SHC overturns sentences in Perveen Rehman murder case

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 05 Jan 2023

KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday overturned sentences handed down by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Perven Rehman Murder case.

The Karachi ATC, in December 2021, had 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. The ATC judge had 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.

All of the accused had challenged the ATC verdict in Sindh High Court, which after series of hearings, announced verdict today, overturning the ATC sentences.

Case Background:

It may be recalled that Parveen Rahman was a postgraduate diploma in housing, building and urban planning from the Institute of Housing Studies in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and was heading the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) and had devoted her life to the development of impoverished neighbourhoods. She was gunned down near her office in Orangi Town on March 13, 2013.

In 2020, a joint investigation team (JIT) had told the Supreme Court that the motive behind the killing of Rahman was land grabbing. “The accused were Pashtun and could not tolerate a Bihari lady heading a major organization in the predominantly Pashtun and Afghan area,” read the JIT final report submitted to the apex court.