A model criminal court in Karachi on Friday delivered a severe verdict under police encounter case laws, sentencing Shaheen Force officer Shahryar to death and giving life imprisonment to two fellow officers for killing 26-year-old Amir Husain in a staged encounter in Gulistan-i-Jauhar in December 2022. The court held Shahryar responsible for the fatal shooting, while Nasir and Faisal were convicted for their roles. All three were also ordered to pay Rs500,000 each as compensation to the victim’s family.
What the court ordered
The sentences close a long criminal process over a killing that police had at first framed as action against a criminal. Under police encounter case laws as applied in this trial, the court treated the shooting as a staged encounter rather than lawful use of force. The murder case against the three men had been registered under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which covers premeditated murder. A separate FIR with terrorism-related charges was also lodged at the Sharae Faisal police station on the complaint of Amir’s mother.
How the December 2022 shooting unfolded
According to the prosecution, the events began on December 27, 2022, when Shaheen Force personnel signalled Amir to stop near Aladdin Park during snap-checking—a roadside stop-and-check. When he did not stop, officers chased him into a residential apartment complex in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, entered the building, and opened fire. Amir died at the scene; the officers left without injuries.
The FIR said Amir was riding a motorcycle to buy medicines for his father, who had suffered paralysis. It stated that after he drove into Noman Avenue, he got off the bike and was heading toward his parents’ house when police opened fire. He was with a young girl at the time. The family said he had been deliberately targeted. His mother told reporters he worked with his brother at the Karachi Fisheries and asked whether anyone would go out to commit a robbery while accompanying a little child. An eyewitness claimed four police personnel shot Amir on the building stairs in front of people present, and likewise questioned how someone with a young child could be cast as a robber.
Amir’s funeral prayer was led by Jamaat-i-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, who afterwards demanded strict action against the officers involved.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- December 27, 2022: Shaheen Force personnel chase Amir Husain from near Aladdin Park into a Gulistan-i-Jauhar residential complex and open fire; he dies at the scene.
- After the shooting (December 2022): Three police personnel are arrested; a Section 302 murder case is registered, and a terrorism-related FIR is lodged at Sharae Faisal police station on the mother’s complaint.
- After the killing: Police initially portray Amir as a criminal; the family and an eyewitness dispute that account; his funeral is led by Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, who calls for strict action.
- Friday: A Karachi model criminal court sentences Shahryar to death, Nasir and Faisal to life imprisonment, and orders Rs500,000 compensation from each convict.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Karachi ki court ne ek police officer ko sazaye maut di hai aur do aur cops ko umar qaid. Yeh faisla Gulistan-i-Jauhar mein 2022 ke us waqye par hai jismein Amir Husain ko police ne goli maar di thi. Court ke mutabiq yeh asli encounter nahi, balke staged killing thi. Teenon se peedit family ko panch lakh rupay muawza bhi dena hoga.
