Law: Pakistan Penal Code (PPC),1860

Section: 302(B),324,109,34

Law: Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997

Section: 7

Law: Sindh Arms Act, 2013

Section: 23(i)(a)

Law: Criminal Procedure Code, 1898

Section: 154,161,342,374,382-B,544-A

Summary:The High Court of Sindh heard the appeals of Muhammad Rashid and Zahid Abbas, convicted for the murder of Mst. Zuhra Shahid, a PTI worker, in a politically motivated killing linked to election rivalry with MQM. The convictions were primarily based on a sole eyewitness—the victim’s driver—whose identification and testimony were found reliable and corroborated by medical evidence and ballistic reports. Despite minor doubts and a delayed FIR, the court upheld the conviction but exercised judicial discretion to commute the death sentences to life imprisonment, following Supreme Court guidance on awarding alternative sentences in murder cases where doubt exists.Core Points:Mst. Zuhra Shahid was fatally shot outside her home in a politically charged environment.FIR filed after a 4-day delay due to relatives’ non-cooperation and political fears.Driver of the deceased was the sole eyewitness, found reliable and confidence-inspiring.Identification parade was conducted legally and the eyewitness correctly identified accused.Medical evidence corroborated eyewitness account of close-range shooting.Slight conflict between ocular and medical evidence resolved in favor of eyewitness testimony.Weapon recovered from Zahid Abbas matched bullets recovered at the scene.Accused were politically motivated MQM activists targeting PTI election workers.Defense arguments about delayed evidence submission, identification parade defects, and contradictions were…

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