Islamabad: The Supreme Court acquitted the accused after 15 years while deciding a murder case.
A three-member bench comprising Justice Hashim Kakar, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, and Justice Ishaq Ibrahim delivered the verdict.
The court acquitted accused Naeem Arshad alias Popo, named in the murder case over a dispute of Rs 2,500 for unpaid clothes, ordering his immediate release after 15 years. The Supreme Court also set aside the Lahore High Court’s decision dated November 29, 2017.
The court judgment states that the complainant’s presence at the scene is suspicious, and it was completely dark at the time of the incident with no mention of light sources.
According to the court, the incident did not occur in the manner described but remains mysterious. The investigating officer stated that the firing was not done by Naeem Arshad but by Shehbaz Ali.
The court noted that the pistol recovered from Shehbaz Ali matched the shell found at the scene, and the trial court had already acquitted Shehbaz Ali, as neither the state nor the complainant challenged his acquittal. Failure to produce witnesses creates a negative impression against the prosecution.
The deceased Anwar was killed on March 14, 2011, by firing at a cloth shop in Sahiwal. According to the complainant, the dispute arose two days prior over Rs 2,500 in unpaid dues for clothes. The trial court had sentenced Naeem Arshad to 25 years in prison in 2015.
