One law for the rich and another for poor, the justice has rightly been deteriorated for twenty-year-old Shahzeb Khan who was gunned down on the night of December 24, 2012. The unfortunate debate that has been triggered after this case has raised number of questions on the impartiality of justice in our country.
As the ill-fated deceased was a son of Deputy Superintendent of Police Aurangzeb Khan, it brought the case to light and the then Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry took Suo motu notice. Initially, the speculations were that this case will set an example and will introduce a system of justice where there won’t be any difference between have and have-nots. Soon the case received unparalleled media attention and it seemed that the convict belonging to the influential tribal family of Sindh will find no refuge from the eyes of justice. Lately, all the hopes of justice were withered away when Shahzeb’s family pardoned Jatoi.
The contradictory statements appeared from the prior family, explained the actual helplessness they would have went through at that very moment. Shahrukh’s mother said, “We may not have forgiven them in our hearts, but we have pardoned our son’s killers in the name of Allah,”. She, at the same time, said that they cannot spend their entire lives in fear and took the decision considering the circumstances. Moreover, no blood money was demanded by the victim’s family. The case has also brought into light number of other contradictory facts that just speak of the shelters that the rich can find under such a system.
Recently, Jatoi’s lawyer Naek contended that his client was a juvenile at the time the crime was committed and, therefore, he should not have been tried under anti-terrorism laws while six-member medical board set up in 2013 conducted an ossification test of Shahrukh Jatoi, and found initial signs of his adulthood. Apart from all the distorted facts that were brought forward in front of the public and judiciary, the B (VIP) category treatment of Jatoi at Karachi jail has merely added fuel to the fire. Our law does not, in any way, allow to grant such luxurious perks to the convict of murder. Country has again fixed its eyes on this case as fate of Jatoi will not only decide this individual case but will also set an example for the future.