Pakistan’s Supreme Court has commuted the death sentence of a man convicted in a 2021 case of murdering his wife and daughter, replacing it with life imprisonment in a ruling that highlights the rights and welfare of children.
According to court records, Muhammad Amin was charged in April 2021 in Vehari for fatally stabbing his wife and one of his daughters following a dispute over the sale of agricultural land. During the attack, Amin inflicted 21 stab wounds on his wife and eight on his daughter, while another daughter sustained injuries.
Amin had initially been sentenced to death on two counts by the trial court, a decision upheld by the Lahore High Court’s Multan Bench.
Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, in the written judgment, stated that executing the only surviving parent would effectively render a child an orphan under the supervision of the judiciary.
“The state should not become the architect of a child’s complete helplessness or the destruction of a family,” the court added.
The ruling referenced international standards, noting that under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the state has a duty to consider the best interests of children in such cases.
The court held that Qisas - a form of retributive justice under Section 306 of the Pakistan Penal Code - cannot be enforced when the convict is also the sole surviving legal guardian of the deceased’s child. In this case, Muhammad Amin remains the only support for his 15-year-old daughter.
However, the court emphasized that the severity and brutality of the crime could not be ignored. It rejected any reduction of the sentence under Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code, ensuring that Amin remains accountable for his actions.
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