SC acquits two life-term prisoners after 17 years due to lack of evidence

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted two prisoners, Imtiaz and Naeem, after 17 years in prison due to lack of evidence.

The trial court had sentenced them to death in 2008 under the Anti-Terrorism Act for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a child named Inaam in Charsadda for ransom.

Later, the Peshawar High Court commuted their death sentence to life imprisonment.

After seven years, the convicts filed an appeal against the High Court's decision. The Supreme Court accepted their delayed appeal for hearing.

A bench led by Justice Hashim Kakar, along with Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, heard the case.

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The court emphasized that in cases involving the death penalty or life imprisonment, verifying evidence and legal grounds is crucial.

It ruled that if a confession is later retracted and serves as the sole evidence, it becomes legally unreliable. Sentencing someone to death based on a withdrawn confession is a delicate and questionable act.