SC overturns death sentences of suspects in killing of police personnel

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the death sentences of suspects allegedly involved in the infamous 2011 Pindi Gheb attack, ordering their immediate release.

Supreme Court Judge Justice Ashtiaq Ibrahim issued the written verdict, overturning the death and life sentences handed to six defendants by the trial and high courts.

At least six police personnel, including Sub-Inspector Muhammad Ramzan, were killed in Pindi Gheb in Rawalpindi on May 1, 2011.

The accused were also charged with setting fire to oil tankers and seizing government weapons.

The Supreme Court found that the suspects had not been named in the original FIR and that their identification was unreliable.

The court noted that witnesses were present at the scene but no injuries occurred during the attack, making the identification parade legally flawed and unsafe.

The ruling also stated that the suspects’ alleged confessions in another case carried no legal weight, as they had already been acquitted in that case.

The top court said that the prosecution failed to present credible and independent evidence against the accused, the court said.

The Supreme Court cleared the suspects, citing the benefit of doubt, and ordered their immediate release.