The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led Sindh government has decided against releasing suspects allegedly involved in the murder of renowned rights activist Parveen Rehman.
According to reports, the provincial Home Department has decided not to release the alleged suspects under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO).
In the statement, the provincial government said that the lives of family members of Parveen Rehman, including her sister, were under severe threat.
Rehman, the head of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), was gunned down near her office in Orangi Town on March 13, 2013.
Last month, the Sindh High Court (SHC) overturned the death sentences awarded to the accused by an anti-terrorism court (ATC).
The accused, Rahim Swati, Amjad Hussain, Ayaz Swati and Ahmed Hussain, had challenged the ATC verdict in the Sindh High Court.
After several hearings of the case, the SHC overturned the sentences awarded by the ATC.
The Karachi ATC, in December 2021, had awarded life imprisonment on two counts to four accused in the murder case.
An anti-terrorism court anti-terrorism (ATC) judge had sentenced Abdul Raheem Swati, Ahmed Khan, Amjad Hussain Khan and Ayaz Swati to life imprisonment. All five accused were fined Rs200,000. The fifth accused, Imran Swati, was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined an additional Rs200,000.
Sindh Police IG Ghulam Nabi Memon had confessed that due to certain flaws the suspects had the advantage and were freed by the court.
