ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court observed on Thursday that law-breakers must be dealt with an iron hand since these elements destroy the very fabric of society and hence deserve no leniency.

       The observations came in a judgement authored by Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, who was part of a bench hearing an appeal against an LHC Multan bench decision to convert a death sentence into a life term.

       The sentence was awar-ded to Muhammad Hanif under section 7 of the ATA 1997 for killing Muham-mad Iqbal Shah, a police head constable. The trial court had convicted Muha-m-mad Hanif under section 302(b) of PPC and sentenced him to death. He was also told to pay Rs 100,000 as compensation to Iqbal Shah’s heirs.

       But the court rejected Hanif’s appeal with an observation that since he was caught on the spot by police soon after the constable’s murder, there was no doubt about his involvement in the crime.

       Published in Dawn, September 22th, 2023