A court in Islamabad has sentenced a retired police officer to death for kidnapping and murdering a Senate employee whose body was later recovered from Mansehra.
Additional Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka convicted former superintendent of police Syed Arif Hussain Shah in the murder of Hamza Khan, a Senate employee who went missing in March last year.
According to the verdict, Arif Shah was handed the death sentence in the murder case. He was also awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and seven years in prison for concealing evidence.
The court further imposed fines under both charges and ordered the convict to pay Rs1 million in compensation to the victim’s legal heirs. The death sentence will require confirmation from the Islamabad High Court.
Two other convicts, Saqlain Ali Shah and Sabir Hussain Shah, were sentenced to life imprisonment in the murder case along with additional jail terms for kidnapping and hiding evidence. All sentences will run concurrently.
Investigators said Hamza Khan had traveled from Islamabad to Khaki in Mansehra on March 15, 2025, allegedly to meet Arif Shah over a financial dispute involving millions of rupees. Police later concluded that he was killed there and secretly buried to cover up the crime.
The body was recovered during a joint operation after investigators traced the case to Mansehra. Police said the grave had been dug in the courtyard of a relative’s house and the burial site was allegedly disguised in an attempt to mislead investigators.
Investigators also said the suspects tried to create the impression that Hamza had returned to Islamabad by keeping his mobile phones active and later dumping them near the G-10 Metro Station.
Hamza’s family welcomed the verdict and said they had resisted repeated pressure to settle the matter out of court.
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