A local court in Islamabad has awarded life sentence to all the three culprits involved in the famous Fahad Malik murder case, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.  

Session Judge Ata Rabbani on Tuesday pronounced the verdict reserved last week. The culprits named Raja Arshad, Raja Hashim and Nauman Khokhar were handed down life sentences by the court in the murder case of British National Barrister Fahad Malik.

The court also asked the convicts to pay Rs600,000 fine each.   

Barrister Fahad Malik was murdered on August 15, 2016, in a shooting on a busy road in Sector F-10, Islamabad. Malik was leaving Shalimar police station after duty, acting for a client, when his car was stopped, and he was showered with bullets.

Three accused: Raja Arshad, Nauman Khokar, and Raja Hashim Khan were taken into custody on murder charges. Arshad was caught at the Torkham border by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as he was trying to flee to Afghanistan a few days after the murder.

Barrister Fahad was a British national who had settled in Pakistan. He was the nephew of former Senate chairman and former federal minister Mohammad Mian Soomro and was also the brother-in-law of PTI leader and former SAPM Zulfi Bukhari.

District and Sessions Judge Ata Rabani heard the case last week. Accused Raja Arshad, Noman Khokhar and Raja Hashim were produced before the court. At the outset of hearing, Prosecutor Rana Hassan argued that the plaintiff’s vehicle was recovered from the crime scene with the marks of bullets. He said the police had seized the vehicles of victim Barrister Fahad Malik, the plaintiff and the accused. The police had also recovered the vehicle No 333, which belonged to a mafia group, against whom dozens of murder cases were registered.  The prosecutor said accused Raja Arshad had also threatened Fahad Malik in a police station. He gave the references of the apex court’s judgment and prayed the court to award exemplary punishment to the accused.  After listening to the arguments, the court reserved its judgment in the murder case.

Reporter Ehtisham Kiyani