Ashrafuddin Pirzada
\nLANDIKOTAL
\nThe Peshawar High Court has upheld the death sentence awarded to a man convicted of murdering his wife, a Sub-Divisional Education Officer (SDEO) in Landikotal three years ago.
\nA two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Inamullah Khan rejected the convict\u2019s plea seeking commutation of his death sentence on humanitarian grounds, including the argument that he had three minor children.
\nThe convict, Najeebullah, was sentenced to death by the District and Sessions Judge, Khyber, on December 13, 2025, for the murder of Rizwana Shaheen. The trial court had also directed him to pay Rs1 million as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased.
\nRizwana Shaheen was found dead in a pool of blood at her official residence inside a government school in Merikhel, Landikotal, on June 17, 2023. She had sustained multiple injuries from a sharp-edged weapon.
\nAccording to the FIR, school watchman Murad Ali, the complainant, reached the school and found the SDEO\u2019s quarter unattended. Upon entering, he found Rizwana critically injured and later confirmed dead.
\nThe accused was subsequently arrested and according to the prosecution, led police to the recovery of the alleged murder weapon and blood-stained clothes from Domel area of Bannu.
\nThe prosecution said Najeebullah had no permanent source of income and was largely dependent on his wife for his livelihood.He also recorded a confessional statement before a magistrate.
\nTwo minor daughters were present at the residence at the time of the incident. One of them, Arisha, appeared as a prosecution witness and testified against her father.
\nIn its 44-page judgment, the high court observed that the prosecution case did not rest solely on circumstantial evidence and held that the convict\u2019s judicial confession was voluntary and legally admissible.
\nThe defence counsel argued that even if Najeebullah was not entitled to acquittal, his death sentence should be commuted because the deceased was his wife and their three children would face an uncertain future if their father was executed.
\nThe bench rejected the plea, observing that Najeebullah\u2019s conduct after the murder\u2014including fleeing the scene and leaving the children alone without reporting the incident\u2014along with the subsequent recovery of the alleged murder weapon, constituted strong evidence against him.
\nThe court held that the mere presence of children or humanitarian considerations could not be viewed in isolation, noting that the children had also lost their mother, including her care and financial support.
\nThe bench further noted that the couple had a history of strained relations and that Rizwana had previously filed a suit for dissolution of marriage on grounds of violence. The dispute was later settled following intervention by local elders.
\nThe court concluded that the murder was not the result of a sudden quarrel but appeared to be a deliberate act. It consequently dismissed the convict\u2019s plea for mercy and upheld the death sentence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ashrafuddin Pirzada LANDIKOTAL The Peshawar High Court has upheld the death sentence awarded to a man convicted of murdering his wife, a Sub-Divisional Education Officer (SDEO) in Landikotal three years ago. A two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Inamullah Khan rejected the convict\u2019s plea seeking commutation of his death sentence on humanitarian grounds, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-567183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-peshawar"],"yoast_head":"\n