Supreme Court upholds life sentence for Khurram Ejaz in Tipu Truckanwala murder case
Crime
Supreme Court upholds conversion of Khurram Ejaz’s death sentence to life imprisonment, removes terrorism charges, and dismisses appeal against acquittal of co-accused Ahsan Shah.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Supreme Court of Pakistan has upheld the decision to convert the death sentence of central convict Khurram Ejaz into life imprisonment in the Tipu Truckanwala murder case.
The court also removed all terrorism-related charges against Khurram Ejaz and dismissed the appeal challenging the acquittal of co-accused Syed Ahsan Shah. Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim issued a detailed nine-page verdict.
According to the ruling, Ahsan Shah’s name was not mentioned in the FIR, and granting him the benefit of the doubt was deemed appropriate. The court observed that the murder of Arif Ameer, also known as Tipu Truckanwala, stemmed from personal enmity rather than terrorism, stating that merely committing a murder in a public place does not automatically constitute terrorism.
The judgment noted that the prosecution failed to establish a concrete motive behind the killing. Under the law, if motive is not proven, the death penalty cannot be awarded.
The incident occurred on the evening of January 20, 2010, in the parking area of Allama Iqbal International Airport, where Arif Ameer was shot multiple times while returning from Dubai and boarding his vehicle. Khurram Ejaz was apprehended at the scene by the victim’s companions and handed over to police.
According to the convict, the victim was allegedly supporting the killers of his brother. In May 2011, an anti-terrorism court sentenced Khurram Ejaz to death twice. Later, in October 2019, the Lahore High Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment and acquitted Ahsan Shah.
