Supreme Court upholds life imprisonment in Tipu Truckanwala murder case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday announced its verdict on the appeals in the Tipu Truckanwala murder case.

Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim issued a detailed nine-page ruling, upholding the life imprisonment of the main accused, Khurram Ijaz, while dismissing petitions filed before the court.

The SC maintained the earlier decision of the Lahore High Court, which had converted Khurram Ijaz’s death sentence to life imprisonment.

The court also removed all terrorism charges against Khurram Ijaz and dismissed the appeal challenging the acquittal of co-accused Syed Ahsan Shah. The SC noted that Ahsan Shah’s name was not listed in the FIR and ruled that the benefit of doubt justified his acquittal.

The verdict clarified that the murder of Tipu Truckanwala was driven by personal enmity, not terrorism, emphasising that merely committing a murder in a public place does not qualify as an act of terrorism. The prosecution failed to establish a concrete motive for the killing, and under the law, a death sentence cannot be awarded without proving motive.

Case Background

On January 20, 2010, Arif Ameer, also known as Tipu Truckanwala, was shot in the parking area of Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, shortly after arriving from Dubai on PIA Flight PK-204.

Amir Mughal, Sabz Ali, and Ahsan Ullah Jalali had gone to receive Tipu. Around 7:35 p.m., after he exited the lounge, Khurram Ijaz allegedly opened fire at Tipu as he was about to board a vehicle, injuring him with gunshots.

Tipu’s companions took cover, and Ahsan Ullah Jalali overpowered Khurram Ijaz and seized the pistol, while an unknown co-accused managed to flee the scene. The injured Tipu was immediately taken to Mayo Hospital.

Khurram Ijaz claimed that Tipu was supporting the killers of his brother. In May 2011, an anti-terrorism court had sentenced him to death twice, while the Lahore High Court in October 2019 converted the sentence to life imprisonment and acquitted Ahsan Shah.