Daily Times

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Abdul Sami Khan on Monday referred to the chief justice a petition seeking transfer of trial on the murder of Samia Shahid, a British Pakistani, who was raped and killed in the name of honour.

Earlier, the LHC had asked the petitioner to approach its Rawalpindi bench. The judge referred the petition, filed by deceased’s husband Syed Mukhtar Kazam, to Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah to be fixed before any bench, as powers to transfer a case from one district to other rested with the top judge of the high court. The chief justice would hear the petition on October 17.

The petitioner, who was also the complainant, approached the court requesting it to transfer the trial of his wife’s murder from Jehlum to Lahore due to the threats that he, along with other witnesses, were facing in the area. Petitioner Kazam stated that the prosecution also submitted a challan against the suspects before Additional District and Sessions’ Judge Ambreen Qureshi of Jhelum.

He stated the suspects were in a position to hamper the dispensation of justice, adding that relatives of the accused were sending life threatening messages to the witnesses. He stated that the accused were influential people and were constantly forcing the witnesses to leave Pakistan.

He stated that a joint investigation team (JIT) in this murder also had recommended the case to be transferred to Lahore. “The JIT had recommended that it was a case of honour killing and the government should direct the prosecution department to closely monitor the case and try its best to obtain the conviction of the accused,” he added.

The petitioner stated that the atmosphere at Jehlum was not congenial for trial as the accused enjoyed political influence there, adding that the petitioner and other witnesses were under constant threat and there was great apprehension, even from the prosecution, that it may not get justice from the concerned court in this situation.

He stated that if the trial was held in Lahore, the prosecution would be in a much better position to closely supervise the trial proceedings and record evidence without any undue influence in a free and fair atmosphere for the witnesses.

He requested the court to transfer the challan of the accused from Jehlum to Lahore in the interest of justice, fairness and equity.

Samia Shahid, a dual national, had died in July this year when she had come from England to see her ailing father in Jhelum. The deceased family claimed that Samia died of natural causes, but Kazam alleged that her family murdered her in the name of honour.

Mangla Police on July 23 registered a case on the complainant of Kazam and later arrested Samia’s father Muhammad Shahid and first husband Muhammad Shakeel, who was also her cousin. The police also charged Shakeel for raping the victim. Samia’s mother and sister, also nominated suspects, went abroad to avoid the trial.