PHC sets aside life term of three accused in honour killing case.

PESHAWAR -- The Peshawar High Court has set aside, on the basis of a compromise, the conviction and sentence of life awarded to three persons including a woman for killing their female relative on pretext of honour in Upper Chitral district.

A two-member bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar and Justice Mohammad Ijaz Khan observed that according to the report of the trial court, the compromise affected between the parties was genuine, therefore, the appeal jointly filed by the convicts was allowed and they were acquitted of the charges levelled against them.

The appellants included two brothers named Salahuddin and Samiullah and former's wife Saeeda Bibi. They were accused of killing Fareeha Bibi, a sister-in-law of the two male convicts, and throwing her body in a pond. The deceased blamed for facilitating friendship between a minor niece of the male convicts with a boy of the area.

The trial court had on April 7, 2022, found the three appellants guilty of the offence and sentenced them to life imprisonment with fine of Rs300,000 each, which had to be paid to legal heirs of the deceased as compensation.

Appeal accepted as compromise takes place between parties

Initially, on August 10, 2020, Salahuddin and Samiullah had approached the officials of Owir police station in Upper Chitral and informed them that their brother Sheikhul Islam had been in Saudi Arabia for labour work whereas their sister-in-law Fareeha Bibi had been residing with her two minor daughters. They had stated that their 14-year-old niece (sister's daughter) had also been residing with Fareeha Bibi.

They claimed that Fareeha Bibi had gone missing and they searched for her but could not trace her. Later on, her body was found in a pond.

When Sheikhul Islam came back from Saudi Arabia, he charged his two brothers and a...