In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has dismissed the appeal of Khurshid Ahmed-convicted of murdering his wife-and ruled that disguising violence as a natural cause of death is unacceptable.
The Court held that the evidence on record clearly establishes the offence of murder.
According to the detailed written verdict issued by the Supreme Court, the judgment was delivered on November 26, 2025, by a three-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim. The detailed ruling was authored by Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim.
The judgment states that Khurshid Ahmed had been sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court under Section 302(b) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for the murder of his wife, Gulshan Bibi.
Subsequently, the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, altered the conviction from intentional murder to qatl shibh-i-amd (Section 316 PPC), awarding him 10 years’ imprisonment along with payment of Rs 2,055,936 as diyat.
The Supreme Court observed that the victim’s body bore multiple and severe injury marks, which were fully corroborated by medical evidence and the postmortem report.
According to the report, the cause of death was hypovolemic shock resulting from intense physical violence, with no indication of poisoning or any intoxicating substance.
The Court also attached exceptional importance to the testimony of the victim’s minor son, Muhammad Ali Khan, who consistently and clearly stated that his father and another man assaulted his mother with a wooden plank, leading to her death.
The bench declared the child’s testimony trustworthy, noting no evidence of coaching or fabrication.
The Supreme Court rejected the convict’s claim that the death was natural or that he was not present at the scene. The judgment noted that had the death truly been natural, it would have been the husband’s duty to seek immediate medical assistance or inform the family and police. Instead, the convict’s conduct was suspicious and evasive.
Expressing deep concern over the societal dimension of domestic violence, the Court remarked that, in many cases, daughters are sent back into abusive environments, where continuous violence ultimately costs them their lives. Preventing such tragedies, the verdict stressed, is a shared responsibility of both the state and society.
Dismissing the appeal, the Supreme Court directed the convict to pay the diyat amount to the legal heirs of the deceased within the prescribed timeline-three equal installments over five years. The Court clarified that upon furnishing the required sureties for payment, the convict may be released on bail; otherwise, proceedings will continue in accordance with the law.