CHITRAL: The parents of Shiraz Ahmed, 13, who was allegedly murdered by his elder brother in Raman village of Laspur early this year, have pardoned the accused, resulting in his release from jail.
According to sources and local elders, the incident had sent shockwaves across the community when Shiraz was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Feb 26, 2025. The elder brother was arrested on March 6 and charged in connection with the murder.
However, the father exercised his legal right to forgive the accused. The move has led to the alleged killer’s formal release from prison.
Shiraz Ahmed, son of Sher Muhammad, resident of Raman village, disappeared after leaving home on February 25.
On February 26, Shiraz’s body was found in the forest near his home in Raman.
On March 6, the Mastuj police arrested the stepbrother of the victim identified as Eidur Rehman, 30. Police had told ChitralToday that the arrest was made based on forensic evidence and postmortem report.
According to sources, the accused had told police that his father and stepmother had been discriminating against him in distribution of family property including orchard trees and a shop in favor of Shiraz. As a result, he decided to eliminate Shiraz.
The police first registered a case about the disappearance of the boy and later added murder section (302) after Shiraz\’s mother approached the police accusing Rehman of murdering her son.
The DPO Upper Chitral had told ChitralToday soon after the suspect\’s arrest that at about 10am on Feb 25 when there was light snowfall, Rehman took Shiraz out of their house on the pretext of going for a walk and reached the forest area and overpowered and strangulated him there. After the boy passed away, the culprit took out the lace of his shoes and put it around his neck to portray it as a suicide.
The culprit did not return to his home after commiting the heinous crime and went to the houses of some relatives in nearby villages. Upon returning home in the late afternoon, he joined local people who were searching for the boy.
The DPO said that as the dead body was lying in a depression among stones it was not visible due to snowfall on it. The locals searched for Shiraz in the area but couldn\’t see it. Later, the alleged killer himself spotted the body as one shoe of the victim was protruding out of the snow.
The police said that in most cases suspects confess to their crime in police custody but deny it in court. But in this case, the killer confessed to killing the boy when he was produced before a judicial magistrate.
Pardon by legal heirs
Under the law, legal heirs, including parents, can pardon the killer(s) of their loved ones under the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance.
The legal heirs (wali) can demand Qisas (death penalty), accept Diyat (blood money) or grant a full pardon.
However, pardon is not accepted in terrorism and honour killing cases as an amendment has been made to the law.