IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN 
(Appellate Jurisdiction) 
 
 
PRESENT: 
Mr. Justice Mushir Alam 
Mr. Justice Sardar Tariq Masood 
Mr. Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed 
 
Criminal Petition Nos.29-Q & 56-Q of 2015 and  
Jail Petition No.306/2015 and Cr. P. 30-Q & J.P. No.305 of 2015 
(Against judgment dated 25.05.2015 passed by High Court of Balochistan, Quetta passed in Cr. 
Appeal Nos.368, 370 & 371/2013) 
 
 
Abdul Haq & Muhammad Yousaf 
(in Cr.P.No.29-Q/2015) 
Abdul Ghani  
(in Cr.P.No.56-Q/2015) 
Wali Muhammad 
(in J.P. No.306/2015) 
Abdul Haq 
(in Cr. P. No.30-Q/2015) 
Wali Muhammad 
(in J.P. No.305/2015) 
 
 
 
  
 
…Petitioner(s) 
 
 
 
 
 
Versus 
The State 
 (in all cases) 
 
…Respondent(s) 
 
For the Petitioner(s): 
Mr. Ahsan Rafique Rana, ASC 
 
Mr. Mehmood A. Sheikh, AOR 
 
 
 
 
 
(in Cr.P.No.29-Q & 30-Q/2015) 
 
 
 
 
 
Nemo. 
 
 
 
 
 
(in Cr.P.No.56-Q/2015) 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Abdul Rauf Lahri, ASC 
 
 
 
 
 
(in J.P. Nos.305 & 305/2015) 
 
  
 
 
 
For the State 
Mr. 
Baqar 
Shah, 
Addl. 
Prosecutor 
General Balochistan 
  
 
 
Date of hearing: 
07.11.2019 
 
JUDGMENT  
 
Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, J. 
 
Criminal Petition No.29-Q & Jail Petition No.306/2015: Petitioners 
were indicted by the learned Special Judge Anti-Terrorism Court-I, 
Quetta for abduction of Abdul Rahim (PW-3) to extort ransom on 
1.9.2012 from the precincts of Police Station Satellite Town Quetta; the 
Criminal Petition Nos.29-Q & 56-Q of 2015 and Jail Petition No.306/2015 and Cr. P. 30-Q & J.P. No.305 of 2015 
 
 
2
incident was reported by abductee’s brother Muhammad Ismail (PW-1) 
against the unknown culprits. The abductee surfaced on his own after 
2/3 days of the occurrence, he implicated the petitioners for the first 
time on 8-10-2012 alongside four unknown co-accused, he blamed the 
petitioners to have abducted him for the ransom; according to him, he 
was enchained at an unspecified place and let off after the captors 
snatched Rs.20,000/- along with a cell phone handset and some 
revenue papers. Pursuant to the disclosure, the petitioners were 
arrested on different dates; nothing incriminatory was recovered during 
the course of investigation. Till date prosecution is clueless about the 
four unknown accomplices as well as the venue where the abductee was 
held under restraint. Petitioners alongside the demised Abdul Ghani  
co-accused claimed trial wherein the prosecution produced as many as 
12 witnesses, Abdul Rahim (PW-3) being most prominent amongst 
them; the learned trial Judge vide judgment dated 11.12.2013 returned 
a guilty verdict; convicted under Section 365-A of the Pakistan Penal 
Code, 1860 read with section 6(2)(e) of the Anti Terrorism Act, 1997, the 
accused were sentenced to imprisonment for life along with fine; their 
appeals failed in the High Court vide impugned judgment dated 
25.5.2015, vires whereof, are being assailed, primarily on the admitted 
previous acquaintance as well as animosity between the petitioners and 
the abductee; inherent improbability of the story is another argument 
addressed at the bar. 
2.       
Heard. Record perused. 
3.      
Abdul Rahim (PW-3), returned home on his own though 
with some marks of violence on his wrist and ankle joints, noted when 
medically examined as late as on 7-10-2012; in his statement under 
section 161 Cr.P.C. recorded on the following day, he disclosed to the 
Investigating Officer that he was let off 3/4 days before his return; in 
his statement before a Magistrate on 9-10-2012, he is conspicuous by 
his omission on the date of his return. In this background, 
prosecution’s reliance on the injuries endured by the abductee, 
allegedly during his captivity fades into insignificance, particularly in 
the absence of duration thereof in the medico legal certificate. 
Complainant (PW-1) in the witness-box did not point his finger on the 
petitioners; being a real brother of the abductee, he was expected to 
bring on record the information subsequently shared with him by his 
brother. 
The abductee massively improved upon his previous 
Criminal Petition Nos.29-Q & 56-Q of 2015 and Jail Petition No.306/2015 and Cr. P. 30-Q & J.P. No.305 of 2015 
 
 
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statements; he was duly confronted with his deviations; he also 
admitted his acquaintance with Abdul Haq petitioner, his co-villager 
while evasively avoiding a query regarding pendency of different civil 
and criminal cases instituted by Abdul Ghani petitioner against him as 
well as his brother. Similarly, in his examination-in-chief, the abductee 
did not name Muhammad Yousaf petitioner as being one of the culprits; 
while denying litigation between the two families, he however, admitted 
that both the petitioners, real brothers inter se, lived in the same 
neighbourhood. In this backdrop, no importance can be attached to the 
identification parade, conducted under magisterial supervision. In the 
totality of circumstances, the prosecution case is not free from doubt, 
doubts 
deducible 
from 
stated 
prosecution 
positions, 
otherwise 
inherently improbable. Petitioners’ convictions and life time sentences 
consequent thereupon cannot be sustained merely on the basis of some 
superficial healed wounds, genesis whereof is also shrouded in the 
mystery of time and space. Petitions are converted into appeals; 
allowed; impugned judgment is set aside. The petitioners/appellants are 
acquitted of the charge; they shall be released forthwith, if not required 
in any other case.   
 
Criminal Petition No.56-Q of 2015: With the death of Abdul Ghani 
petitioner, his petition stands fructified, leaving in field no adverse 
consequences to the detriment of his legal heirs. Dismissed accordingly.   
 
Criminal Petition 30-Q & Jail Petition No.305 of 2015: The petitions 
arisen out of a different criminal case, clubbed inadvertently with Cr. P. 
No.29-Q & J.P. No.306 of 2015 are de-clubbed for the re-list.  
 
 
 
 
 
Judge 
 
 
 
Judge 
 
 
 
Judge 
Islamabad  
7th November, 2019 
Not approved for reporting 
Azmat/-