An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi on Friday awarded life imprisonment on two counts to four accused in the murder case of renowned rights activist Perween Rahman, who was shot dead in the metropolis in 2013.
Five people had been charged in the high-profile murder case, namely Abdul Raheem Swati and his son Mohammad Imran Swati, and three co-accused – Ayaz Shamzai alias Swati, Amjad Hussain Khan and Ahmed Khan alias Pappu Kashmiri.
The judge of the ATC-VII sentenced Abdul Raheem Swati, Ahmed Khan, Amjad Hussain Khan and Ayaz Swati to life imprisonment. All five of the accused were fined Rs200,000.
The fifth accused, Imran Swati, was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined an additional Rs200,000.
The court had reserved its verdict on October 15 after the court had recorded the evidence and final arguments in the eight-year-long trial.
However, the pronouncement of the verdict was postponed after the prosecutor had moved an application on Oct 28 for framing an amended charge against the accused for hatching a conspiracy to kill Rahman. The court had dismissed the application on Nov 25.
