A Karachi anti-terrorism court has sentenced two men to death in the Karachi ATC teen brothers case, after finding them guilty of kidnapping two teenage brothers for ransom.
The Anti-Terrorism Court-VI judge found Riaz Ahmed and Aijaz Ahmed guilty on two counts of kidnapping and on a terrorism charge. The court passed the death sentences on Tuesday, according to Dawn.
The case began in October 2023. The prosecution said the two men offered jobs to Rehan, 18, and Rizwan, 14, at a spices factory in Sukkur. The promised monthly pay was between Rs25,000 and Rs32,000.
Their father trusted the offer and accepted it. The two brothers then travelled to Sukkur with the men. Instead of giving them work, the men took them to a riverine area, tied them up and kept them confined by force.
Karachi ATC teen brothers case: the ransom demand
The prosecution said the men then demanded Rs6 million from the father. They threatened to kill the brothers if the money was not paid.
After a month of talks, the two sides agreed on Rs500,000. The men then moved the brothers to a house in Karachi.
Police later traced the house, raided it and arrested the two men after a shoot-out. Officers recovered both brothers alive.
Four first information reports were registered in the case. The charges included Section 365-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, which covers kidnapping or abducting a person to extort property. They also included Section 353, which covers assault or criminal force used to stop a public servant from doing his duty, and Section 324, which covers attempt to murder.
Section 34, which covers acts done with a common intention, was also applied. The case further included Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and Section 23 (A) (i) of the Sindh Arms Act.
What the charges mean in plain terms
The heart of the case was the ransom claim. Section 365-A deals with kidnapping carried out to obtain money or property from the victim or another person. That charge, read with the terrorism law, raised the case from an ordinary kidnapping trial to an anti-terrorism trial.
The other charges covered the wider events around the crime. They included the alleged attack on police during the recovery, the alleged attempt on life, and the alleged use of arms. The court found the accused guilty on the kidnapping counts and on the terrorism charge.
The timeline also matters for readers. The crime dates to October 2023, while the verdict came in October 2026. The three-year gap covers the investigation, the trial and the time taken to test the prosecution evidence in court.
What happens next
The Dawn report does not state whether the convicted men plan to appeal. It also does not give a date for any next hearing.
Death sentences in Pakistan go through further legal stages before they can be carried out. Those stages usually include appeals and a review of the trial record by a higher court. Readers should therefore treat Tuesday’s verdict as a trial court decision, not as the final word in the case.
The case also carries a wider warning for families. Job offers that ask teenagers to travel with strangers, without a written contract or a verified employer, can hide serious risk. Parents who receive such offers can check the employer, the workplace and the pay terms before a child travels.
Feature Pakistan earlier reported on a Lahore bike rider arrested after a passenger harassment case, on a court reserving its verdict on a bail plea in Karachi, on a Lahore court sending a PTI leader to jail on judicial remand and on the Supreme Court seeking clarity on DNA evidence in cases.
Frequently asked questions
Who was sentenced in the Karachi ATC teen brothers case?
Riaz Ahmed and Aijaz Ahmed were sentenced to death by Anti-Terrorism Court-VI in Karachi.
What were the brothers promised?
The prosecution said the men offered the brothers jobs at a spices factory in Sukkur, with monthly pay of Rs25,000 to Rs32,000.
How much ransom was first demanded?
The men first demanded Rs6 million, the prosecution said. After a month of talks, the figure agreed was Rs500,000.
Were the brothers recovered alive?
Yes. Police raided a house in Karachi, arrested the two men after a shoot-out and recovered both brothers.
