Shareen Jokhi, widow of Nazim Jokhio who was killed allegedly at the farmhouse of PPP MPA Jam Awais Jokhio, on Tuesday moved the Sindh High Court (SHC) seeking security and expeditious trial of her husband’s murder.
Read more: Court seeks final investigation report in Nazim Jokhio murder case
Nazim was found murdered on November 3, 2021, allegedly at the farmhouse of MPA Jam Awais in Malir a day after a quarrel with Jam’s foreign guests over houbara bustard hunting in his village Salar Jokhio in Dahbeji.
Police had later registered a case against Jam Awais, his brother Abdul Jam Kareem and their servants and guests on the complaint of Nazim’s brother Afzal Jokhio.
Later, Afzal exonerated Jam Kareem of charges of murder of his brother in his statement under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Accusing police and prosecution of supporting some of the accused, the petitioner claimed that after registration of FIR some accused were arrested while feudal lord Jam Kareem was not deliberately arrested by the police.
The petitioner stated that the investigation officer (IO) failed to collect the Call Data Record (CDR) and geo-fencing of accused persons, particularly MNA Jam Karim and MPA Jam Awais. The petitioner pointed out that since the whole case was based upon circumstantial evidence, the unavailability of CDR would certainly damage the case of the petitioner and would benefit the accused.
The petitioner submitted that the complainant and his whole family had been under immense pressure and threats of dire consequences from the accused who were influential sardars of the Jokhio community. So he bowed down before the accused, and in his 164 CrPC statement before the concerned magistrate exonerated the accused MNA Jam Kareem based on his personal opinion.
The petitioner stated that when being the widow of the deceased, she saw this injustice, she came forward to proceed with the case of her husband. However, she added, when she approached the concerned court, she and her counsel were harassed and hindered by the police and prosecution, complainant and accused alike.
The petitioner alleged that the prosecutor at Malir court unduly and deliberately withheld the final investigation report, and after the magistrate declared the case an anti-terrorism case and directed the IO to submit administrative judge of Karachi’s anti-terrorism courts (ATC), the prosecutor general (PG) Sindh office withheld it under the pretext of scrutinizing the same.
The petitioner apprehended that the justice in her husband’s murder case would not be done as the prosecution was directly or indirectly supporting the accused.
Read more: Two suspects confess to killing Nazim Jokhio in Karachi
The petitioner has prayed the court to direct PG Sindh to submit the final investigation report before the administrative judge of ATC, issue direction to the trial court for expedition trail of the case, and order Sindh home secretary and the PG to provide her physical security.
