PAKISTAN: MAN AWARDED DEATH SENTENCE IN MURDER CASE

April 23, 2026:

A Faisalabad court on April 23, 2026 sentenced a man to death in a murder case dating back two years and acquitted three co-accused after extending them the benefit of the doubt.
The verdict was delivered by Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafarullah Niazi in connection with the killing of Ghulam Fareed Wahga in village 158/EB.
The court found the principal accused, Riaz alias Booti, guilty of murdering Ghulam Fareed Wahga and handed him capital punishment. The convict was also ordered to pay Rs500,000 in compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased.
According to Advocate Mirza Zahid Mahmood, who appeared for the prosecution, the case had been registered against four men: Riaz alias Booti, Riaz Kharal, Ghulam Fareed and Ashraf.
He said the accused had allegedly shot the victim dead over an old enmity. While the court convicted Riaz alias Booti, it acquitted the remaining three accused by giving them the benefit of the doubt.
The ruling brought to a close proceedings in the two-year-old case, which had been under trial before the local court.
The judgment specifically related to the murder of Ghulam Fareed Wahga in village 158/EB, where the prosecution had alleged that the killing stemmed from a longstanding dispute.
With April 23 order, the court imposed both the death penalty and financial compensation on the convicted man, while clearing the three co-accused of criminal liability in the case.
Advocate Mirza Zahid Mahmood said the prosecution’s case was that Riaz alias Booti, along with the other nominated men, had opened fire on the victim because of previous hostility.
The court, however, accepted the case against the main accused and did not extend the same finding to the other three men, who were acquitted.
No further details were provided in the court report regarding the circumstances of the shooting beyond the prosecution’s position that the incident was linked to old enmity.