The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday sought comments from the provincial home secretary and the superintendent of Karachi Central Prison on a petition of two convicts in the kidnapping for ransom case seeking their release on parole. Two brothers - Muhammad Shahid and Muhammad Zahid - were found guilty of kidnapping a trader for ransom and sentenced to death by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC). Later, the SHC converted their punishment into life-term after being approached by the convicts.
The two-judge bench headed by Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh was hearing the petition filed by two convicts who moved the SHC through their counsel impugning the letter of the Sindh Home Department that rejected their request for release on parole.
The counsel for petitioners said that his clients were eligible for the release on parole as they have undergone 10 years of imprisonment. Besides, they have got 15-year remissions for behaving well in the penitentiary and passing various examinations, including Nazira Quran. He said they filed an application with the ATC requesting it to order their release on parole but the ATC after conducting hearing on the application referred the matter to the Sindh Home Secretary.
When they approached the home secretary, he said he rejected their request contending that they were not eligible for release on parole as they have not served required period of time. Dispelling the claim of the home secretary, he argued that they were eligible to be released as they have undergone 10-year period of imprisonment and got remissions. Therefore, he requested the court to declare the letter of the Home Department as illegal and order their release on parole.
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