Prosecutor general put on notice: NCHR plea against transfer of Jokhio murder case from ATC

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday issued notices to the Sindh prosecutor general on an application against the order of an anti-terrorism court (ATC) with regard to shifting of the Nazim Jokhio murder case from the ATC to a sessions court.

The applicant, National Commission of Human Rights (NCHR), submitted in the plea that the ATC had transferred the case from to a sessions court observing that it did not fall within the purview of the anti-terrorism law.

A counsel for the NCHR, Jibran Nasir, submitted that Nazim Jokhio had attempted to stop the illegal hunting of houbara bustards by some foreigners who were guests of Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Jam Abdul Karim and MPA Jam Owais.

The lawyer added that the PPP legislators were annoyed after Jokhio uploaded a video on social media regarding illegal hunting by the foreigners.He submitted that the ATC had misread the evidence of the case as there was a huge disparity between the power and resources of the victim and the accused.

He added that the government and the prosecution had become accomplices of the accused.Nasir submitted that the NCHR wanted to become a party in the case as its stance was that such a crime involved a grave violation of human rights and it was clearly an act of terrorism that must be prosecuted accordingly.

The SHC was requested to set aside the ATC order and transfer the case back to the ATC for trial.A division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro, after the preliminary hearing of the application, issued notices to the Sindh prosecutor general and others, and called their comments on June 2.

Jokhio’s tortured body was found at the Jam House, said to be owned by MPA Owais in Jam Goth on November 3, 2021. Jokhio’s brother lodged a case against Owais, his younger brother MNA Karim and others over the murder of 27-year-old Jokhio.