Adeel Malik
While diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and India continue to escalate, a Muslim Pakistani father has decided to forgive 10 non-Muslim Indian youths found guilty of murdering his son in UAE in 2015 as reported by India Today.
Muhammad Farhan of Peshawar was killed in 2015 during a brawl over boot-legging in Al Ain city.
In December last year, a UAE court sentenced the 10 – all from Punjab – to death.
Another youth had been spared the gallows, but was fined Rs 2 lakh.
Muhammad Riaz, the father of the deceased, has now decided to forgive his son’s murderers after consulting his family members and other relatives. A member of Riaz’s family said:
“It’s true that Riaz has decided to forgive them. It was a painful decision. However, he has made the final decision.”
Mail Today discovered that Dubai-based hotelier and social worker SP Singh Oberoi played the vital role in saving the death row convicts.
Oberoi runs an NGO that has been fronting the campaign to save the lives of death row convicts. His long effort has finally convinced the deceased’s family to accept ‘money for blood’.
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Sources say it was his NGO that arranged the ‘money for blood’. However, the amount of money is not known.
A court in Abu Dhabi recently ruled in favour of ‘money for blood’ asking the convicts’ counsel to submit the same.
According to UAE law, if one causes the death or injury of another person accidentally or intentionally, the person has to pay blood money (diya).
The blood money is to be paid to the victim’s family as compensation and the amount is given in accordance with Sharia law.
Death row convicts can file an appeal against death penalty if both the parties reach a settlement. Followed by the court ruling, Riaz flew to Abu Dhabi last week to sign the requisite documents.
Oberoi’s NGO bore his travelling expenses too. With this agreement, a ray of hope has emerged for the 10 Indian youths to start life afresh.
Oberoi had saved 17 youths from Punjab and Haryana from death row in the past. He has already filed an appeal in the Abu Dhabi High Court against death penalty to the 10 convicts in this case.
Sources said all the 10 belong to poor families, who have been working in UAE as plumbers, electricians or laborers.
They are Harpreet Singh (24) and Chander Shekhar from Hoshiarpur district, Toni (24) of Batala, Satminder Singh (25) of Thikriwal village, Ajay Kumar (27) of Punia village, Dharamvir Singh (25) and Kulwinder Singh of Ludhiana, Harjinder Singh of Moga, Gurpreet Singh of Patiala and Jagjit Singh of Gurdaspur.
Soon after they were sentenced to death, their families had approached AAP and BJP leaders, and had even met the chairman of Punjab SC Commission, but to no avail.
After that, they approached Oberoi. The UAE court has set April 12 as the next date of hearing. The Qur’ān states:
“And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.”
