Shahzeb Khan murder case: Shahrukh Jatoi released from custody on bail

KARACHI: Shahrukh Jatoi, the son of an influential feudal, was released from custody on bail on Saturday evening after Shahzeb Khan's father submitted an affidavit in support of the defendant's bail application earlier today.

Jatoi and other defendants in the Shahzeb Khan murder case were released from custody after the issuance of release orders by the court. 

Shahzeb Khan was gunned down by Shahrukh Jatoi in a posh locality of Karachi. An ATC in 2013 had awarded death sentences to Shahrukh Jatoi and Siraj Talpur for the murder of Shahzeb, while life sentences were awarded to Sajjad Ali Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari.

The release orders for Jatoi and other defendants in the murder case were received earlier by jail officials.

Jail officials had confirmed the orders were dispatched from central jail to Jinnah Hospital, where Jatoi was kept in custody. 

The session court (South) on Saturday had approved the bail of Shahrukh Jatoi and three other defendants in the Shahzeb Khan murder case. 

A convoy of cars had reached the hospital to receive Jatoi. His friends were also in attendance. 

Earlier today, the court ordered the defendants to submit surety bonds of Rs 0.5 million each, following which the court issued the release order of the accused. 

Jatoi was also granted bail in the illegal weapon possession case registered against him on a surety bond of Rs0.1 million. 

Aurangzeb Khan stated in his affidavit that with the consent of his family members, he has reached a compromise with the family of the convicts and has pardoned the murder of his son in the name of God, hence he has no objection on the bail plea of convicts.

Earlier, Jatoi appealed against the death sentence handed to him before a two-member bench of the Sindh High Court.

In a sad and unexpected turn of events, the parents of the deceased Shahzeb Khan decided to pardon the culprits responsible for the murder of their only son.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered a retrial, and stroked down the death penalty awarded to the convicts by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in its November 28's verdict.

Shahzeb Khan murder case

Shahzeb Khan, 20, was shot dead on the night between December 24 and 25 in 2012. 

According to the 2013 judgment, the court penalized all four accused with Rs 500,000 fine while Sajjad Talpur and Murtaza Lashari were ordered to serve an additional one-year imprisonment for harassing Shahzeb’s sister.

Speaking to a private news channel in 2013, the victim’s mother Ambreen Aurangzeb reportedly said that: “we may not have forgiven them in our hearts, but we have pardoned our son’s killers in the name of Allah.We cannot spend our entire lives in fear… we took the decision considering the circumstances.”

Details of pardon agreement

According to the details of the pardon agreement between the convicts, Shahzeb Khan’s family were paid Rs 270 million.

Sources informed Geo News that as part of the agreement, the deceased’s family were given a 500-square-yard house in the Defence neighbourhood of Karachi, while his father was given an apartment in Australia. 

According to sources, the pardon agreement was with Shahzeb’s father DSP Aurangzeb. Meanwhile, Shahrukh Jatoi has been admitted to the Jinnah Hospital for the last two months.