Three more co-accused reach compromise with heirs in Nazim Jokhio murder case

Six months after a Malir district and sessions court acquitted Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Jam Owais and his four servants in the murder case of journalist and activist Nazimuddin Jokhio on the basis of an out-of-court settlement, three more co-accused reached a compromise with the legal heirs of the slain activist, The News has learnt.

Owais and his seven servants/guards — Mohammad Mairaj, Mohammad Saleem, Ahmed Khan Shoro, Doda Khan, Mohammad Soomar, Haider Ali and Meer Ali — had been charged with abetting, kidnapping and torturing 26-year-old Jokhio to death at the lawmaker’s farmhouse in Malir on November 2, 2021.

On January 12, the Additional District and Sessions Judge-I (Malir) exonerated the MPA, Mairaj, Shoro, Doda and Soomar of the charges of committing murder of Jokhio and throwing his mobile phone and clothes in a well to hide evidence in the furtherance of their common intention.

However, the judge declined to acquit two of them – Doda and Soomar – of the charge of kidnapping the victim before his brutal murder because the offence of kidnapping punishable under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code is non-compoundable.

The counsel for two incarcerated accused – Haider and Meer– and one absconding accused – Niaz Ahmed – filed applications before the Additional District and Sessions Judge-III, who is now hearing the case under the sections 345(2) and 345 (6) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), requesting him to accept an out-of-court settlement reached between his clients and the legal heirs of the victim and acquit them.

In the pleas, both the parties stated that they had patched up the matter outside the court as the heirs had forgiven the accused in the name of God without accepting any Diyat, according to defence counsel Wazeer Hussain Khoso.

When the case came up for hearing before the sessions judge recently, he issued a notice to the victim’s heirs, including his wife Shireen, mother Jamiat and elder brother Afzal Jokhio, to appear in court to record their statement. He also ruled out the need for calling reports from the relevant station house officer, Mukhtiarkar and Nadra regarding the verification of the legal heirs saying such reports were already available on record.

The court is expected to take up the matter today, July 19.

In December 2022, MPA Awais along with his seven guards/servants were indicted on charges of abetting and torturing Jokhio to death and later concealing the evidence. Soomar, Doda and their absconding accomplice Niaz Salar were also indicted on the charge of kidnapping Jokhio before his murder.

Before formal commencement of the trial after the indictment, the victim’s family filed applications along with their personal affidavits stating that they had pardoned the lawmaker and other accused in the name of God without accepting any blood money. However, Shireen said she did not want any Diyat for herself but demanded an amount of Rs3,058,955 as the share in the blood money for the couple’s children – Rabia, Sabiha, Zianab and Basit. The amount was subsequently deposited with the court. One of the accused – Salar – had refused the compromise and opted to face the trial.