Supreme Court Dismisses Imran Ali Appeal In Zainab Murder Case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed convict Imran Ali's appeal in Zainab murder case and upheld his death sentence.

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Jun, 2018 ) :The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed convict Imran Ali's appeal in Zainab murder case and upheld his death sentence.

The three-member bench comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah heard the matter at Supreme Court Lahore Registry.

In its detailed order, the bench observed that the appellant-convict Imran Ali admitted his guilt and had got recorded a confessional statement at the time of framing of charges during the trial. But, despite the fact, the trial court decided to proceed and recorded statements of 32 witnesses whereas many pieces of evidence were brought on record, the bench added.

The bench further observed that the appellant's counsel did not challenge the prosecution case during the trial but requested only for some leniency.

The bench remarked that the convict through his appeal requested the Lahore High Court for some leniency only without questioning the sentence awarded by the trial court. But, it was only in arguments that the petitioner's counsel submitted that the admission of guilt by the petitioner was a result of coercion, but did not provide any details, the bench noted.

The bench noted that through the present appeal the appellant contended that the confession was a result of duress and inducement, but he also admitted his involvement in clear terms in paragraph 10 of the appeal.

The bench held that apart from pleading guilty to the charge and making a confession by the petitioner, there were many pieces of evidence (CCTV footage, photographs, DNA tests, Medical Reports) brought on the record by the prosecution which proved every word of the confession to be correct.

All such pieces of evidence have convinced the bench that the confession made by the petitioner was not only voluntary but also true, the bench held.

The bench dismissing the appeal upheld the sentence awarded by the trial court and held that the appellant did not deserve any leniency as he had admitted committing similar offences with eight other minor victims.

It is pertinent to mention here that little Zainab went missing on Jan 4, shortly after she left home to go to a neighbour's house. Her parents were in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah when the incident took place. After relatives reported her missing, the police recovered her body on Jan 9 from a heap of garbage.

The incident sparked unrest and massive protests in Kasur district resulting in violent clashes with the police.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar and the Lahore High Court had taken suo motu notices of the incident and ordered a speedy trial of the culprit. Following one of the largest manhunts in the province, then Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the arrest of Imran Ali at a press conference in Lahore.

On Feb 17, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had awarded death sentence on four counts to Imran Ali in Zainab murder case following a four-day trial conducted in the central jail.

The convict was also separately given life imprisonment and a seven-year jail term in addition to the death penalty.

The convict was involved in eight other similar cases wherein six victims had died and only two survived. An anti terrorism court is holding jail trial of two cases against theconvict at present.