Retired Islamabad police SP Arif Shah sentenced to death in Senate employee Hamza Khan murder case

Former Islamabad Police Superintendent Arif Hussain Shah was sentenced to death by a Pakistani court on Tuesday for the murder of 29-year-old Senate employee Hamza Khan.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka announced the verdict in Islamabad after more than 40 hearings. The court also fined Shah PKR 1 million.

What was the verdict in the Arif Shah death sentence case?

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka sentenced retired SP Arif Shah to death for the murder of Senate Secretariat employee Hamza Khan.

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Co-accused Sabir Shah and Saqlain each received life imprisonment and fines of PKR 2 million. The verdict followed final arguments in a trial where prosecutors called 17 witnesses.

How was Hamza Khan abducted and killed?

Hamza Khan, a resident of Islamabad, went missing on March 15, 2025. His elder brother Mohammad Waqar registered a kidnapping case at Aabpara Police Station three days later on March 18. Investigators told the court that Khan was abducted and later killed by Shah.

In a supplementary statement, Waqar told investigators that his brother had visited the home of a retired police officer in Mansehra, a district in northwestern Pakistan.

He alleged a scuffle took place involving Hamza, the retired officer, and the officer's son in the Chattha Bakhtawar area on March 11. The complainant asked police to nominate the retired officer and his son in the case.

Police arrested the retired officer and his brother-in-law during the investigation. Shah initially claimed Hamza had visited his house and then left. His brother-in-law, however, allegedly told investigators that Hamza had been taken to Shah's native village in Mansehra on March 15 and held in illegal detention.

Where was Hamza Khan's body found?

Investigators said Hamza was shot dead and buried in a wooded area near the suspect's home. Police recovered the body from Shah's ancestral home in Mansehra, where it had been buried in a garden.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) Jawad Tariq confirmed the recovery and said the motive behind the killing was still under investigation at that stage.

Prosecutors also alleged that the suspects kept Hamza's mobile phones switched on before bringing them to Islamabad. The phones were later abandoned at a metro station in the G-10 sector, according to investigators.

Following an alleged confession, police sent a team to the village to recover the body and transport it to Islamabad for an autopsy.