Nearly 10 years on, Shahzeb Khan’s murderer Shahrukh Jatoi walks free
Almost ten years after hounding young Shahzeb Khan and brutally murdering him, Shahrukh Jatoi walked free on Wednesday evening.
Jatoi, who was serving a life sentence on terrorism charges and for possessing a weapon while the murder charge was dropped after the families of the convict and his victim reached a compromise, left the Malir Jail in Karachi on Wednesday evening.
Last month on October 18, he had seen the last of the charges evaporate into thin air after the Supreme Court overturned the Sindh High Court’s decision to maintain terrorism charges.
The Supreme Court ruled that since the act was carried out due to personal egos against individuals, the case did not attract terror charges.
A charge of weapons was also dropped due to technical mistakes made by the investigation officer, which invalidated the evidence.
Jatoi had been initially sentenced to death but it was later commuted it to life in prison after the Sindh High Court noted that murder was pardonable and the two families had reached a compromise for pardon.
Govt’s challenge
After the court had announced its short verdict, the federal government had announced that it would file a review petition over Jaoti’s acquittal.
In a statement issued by the Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali on the proceedings in the Shahzeb Khan murder case, it expressed “concern” over the acquittal.
The attorney general contended that the sentence was passed without seeking his position on the matter.
