Osama Satti murder case: IHC turns death sentences of two convicts into life imprisonment

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) turned the death sentences of two convicts in Osama Satti murder case into life imprisonment, while acquitting three others.

A division bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan on Wednesday announced the decision which it had reserved earlier.

The five convicts had filed the appeals to the IHC against their sentences by the trial court. In its decision, the IHC bench reduced the capital punishment of convicts Iftikhar Ahmed and Muhammad Mustafa to life imprisonment sentences, while Saeed Ahmed, Shakeel Ahmed, and Mudassir Mukhtar were acquitted of all charges.

In this matter, the petitioners’ lawyer adopted the stance that the decision of the trial court was contradicting the law. He prayed the court to nullify the judgment of the trial court and acquitted his client while dismissing their sentence.

Lawyer Zahidullah appeared before the court on behalf of petitioners, Iftikhar Ahmed and Muhammad Mustafa and in their petition, they requested the court that the death sentence of police officers, Ahmed and Mustafa may be annulled. He stated that the judgment of the trial court is against the law and should be declared null and void, requesting that the convicted police officials be acquitted.

A district and sessions court of the federal capital had sentenced accused Iftikhar Ahmed and Muhammad Mustafa to death and three others to life imprisonment in the Osama Satti murder case. Additional Sessions judge Zeba Chaudhry had pronounced the judgment in connection with the case, according to which the court ordered the death penalty to Iftikhar and Muhammad, and imposed a fine of Rs0.1m each. The trial of the Osama Satti case lasted for two years and one month, in which, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Mustafa, Saeed Ahmed, Shakeel Ahmed and Mudassar Mukhtar were named accused.

The accused named in the case are anti-terrorism police officials while former secretary of High Court Bar Raja Faisal Younis is the counsel for the plaintiff in the murder case.

On January 2, 2021, at around 2am, Osama had gone to drop his friend in Sector H-11. When he was returning, the police officials had intercepted his vehicle in Sector G-10, Srinagar Highway and fired at him from all sides.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025