Court hands life sentence to Farrukh Khokhar in PTI activist murder case

A sessions court in Rawalpindi on Tuesday sentenced three men, including the main accused Farrukh Khokhar, to life imprisonment after convicting them in the 2022 murder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Majid Satti. Additional District and Sessions Judge Afshan Ijaz Sufi announced the verdict at the Judicial Complex in Rawalpindi after concluding the trial. The court awarded life imprisonment to Farrukh Khokhar and imposed a fine of Rs1 million after finding him guilty of the murder. Farrukh Khokhar is reportedly a local leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). Another accused, Waseem, was acquitted after the court extended him the benefit of the doubt. Security was tightened in and around the Judicial Complex on the occasion, with a heavy police presence deployed to maintain law and order. Family members of both sides, lawyers and supporters were present in large numbers during the hearing. Following the announcement of the verdict, the court ordered the immediate arrest of Farrukh Khokhar, who had been out on bail. Police took him into custody inside the courtroom, handcuffed him and shifted him to the lock-up before later transferring him to Adiala Jail under strict security. The case relates to the killing of PTI leader and social activist Majid Satti, who was shot dead by motorcycle-riding assailants on Sixth Road in Rawalpindi on August 22, 2022. A case was subsequently registered at Sadiqabad Police Station. According to the prosecution, police investigations found that Satti had been opposing an alleged attempt to illegally occupy a plot of land. Investigators concluded that he was targeted and killed because he had become an obstacle to the alleged land-grabbing attempt. According to the prosecution, Farrukh Khokhar, the principal convict in the case, was formerly affiliated with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) before later joining the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). He is the son of Rawalpindi-based political figure Taji Khokhar, who has previously faced allegations related to land-grabbing. Majid Satti’s family and their lawyers have expressed satisfaction with the court’s ruling, saying they believed justice had finally been served.

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