Pakistan Supreme Court refuses to commute sentence for murder after rejected marriage proposal

Pakistan's Supreme Court dismissed Muhammad Kamran's request to replace his death sentence with life imprisonment. He was convicted of killing a woman after she and her family rejected his marriage proposal.

Kamran has spent about 15 years on death row. The court said that time alone does not create a right to commutation, because a prisoner's legal position depends on the sentence imposed, rather than simply the years already served.

Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar wrote the ruling for a three-judge bench. The judges rejected the argument that the woman's refusal could amount to provocation or a mitigating circumstance.

The court said marriage requires both partners' free consent. A woman's right to choose a spouse belongs to her directly, rather than being granted by her family or society. According to Dawn, Kamran identified no error that would justify exercising the court's review powers under Article 188 of the Constitution.