Gulwali Khan, son of Said Ghuwas, was arrested for the murder of Mazhar-ul-Haq, Resident Director of Lakson Tobacco Group of Companies, who was killed by strangulation on the night between 31st May 1995 and 1st June 1995 at his residence in Sector F-6/3, Islamabad. The case involved three accused: Ghulam Khaliq, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Gulwali Khan. They were charged under Sections 302, 34, 460, and 380 PPC for murder, common intention, housebreaking by night, and theft.
The FIR No. 69/1995 was registered at Police Station Kohsar, Islamabad. The accused were arrested on 8th July 1995. According to the prosecution, Gulwali Khan and Ghulam Khaliq had previously worked as domestic servants for the deceased and were dismissed with unpaid salaries, leading to a motive for revenge. The prosecution relied on judicial confessions, which the defense claimed were extracted through coercion and police torture. The defense also pointed out the lack of eyewitnesses and motive.
The Trial Court sentenced Gulwali Khan to death on 23rd February 1997. The High Court upheld the conviction on 14th November 2002, while altering Ghulam Khaliq’s death sentence to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court dismissed Gulwali Khan’s appeal on 28th January 2011, affirming the death sentence due to a lack of mitigating circumstances.
Gulwali Khan later filed a petition in the Federal Shariat Court in 2018, challenging the mode of execution, but subsequently withdrew it. He remains on death row at Central Jail, Haripur, after decades of legal proceedings.