Types of Qatl:

1. Qatl-i-Amd
Under section 300 of PPC this is defined as “Whoever, with the intention of causing
death or with the intention of causing bodily injury to a person, by doing an act which in
the ordinary course of nature is likely to cause death, or with-the knowledge that his act
is so imminently dangerous that it must in all probability cause death, causes the death
of such person, is said to commit Qatl-i-amd”.

Qatl itself is a heinous crime. Those convicted of Qatl-i-amd are regarded as deserving
the most stringent of punishments. This is because the premise of this crime requires
the perpetrator of the Qatl to have intended the death of the victim. In other words, the
perpetrator intended the result of death which he ends up achieving. Since Qatl violates
the fundamental right to life, it is regarded as a very serious crimes by the PPC. This is
a position which reflected by justice systems globally. The grave nature of the crime and
the permanent consequences resulting from it demand harsh punishments fitting the
retributive and deterrent purpose intended by them.
The punishment for Qatl-i-amd has been set, by section 302 0f the PPC, to be either
death according to Qisas, punished with death or imprisonment for life according to
Ta’zir or for a maximum of twenty-five-years imprisonment, when requirements of Qisas
are not fulfilled.

2. Qatl shibh-i-amd :
The second type of Qatl is defined by section 315 of the PPC as, “whoever with the
intent to cause harm to the body or mind of any person, causes the death of that or of
any other person by means of a weapon or an act which in the ordinary course of nature
is not likely to cause death is said to commit Qatl shibh-i-amd”.
This Qatl is reminiscent of the offence of involuntary manslaughter. Since the
perpetrator does not intend the death of the victim in this case but is reckless as to the
consequences of his actions and thereby kills the victim, his crime is held to be less
grave than that of Qatl-i-amd and therefore punished less severely.
The punishment for this crime has been stipulated by section 316 PPC, which makes
convicts of Qatl-i-Shibh-i-amd to be liable to diyat or a maximum imprisonment of twenty
five years according to Tazir.[1]
3. Qatl-i-khata:
The third type of Qatl is Qatl-i-khata, which has been defined by section 318 to be
‘whoever without the intention to cause death of, or cause harm to, a person causes
death of such a person, either by mistake of act or mistake of fact, is said to commit
qatl-e-khata’.
This type of Qatl is punished by section 319 of the PPC and is made liable to Diyat
thereby.[2]
4. Qatl-bis-Sabab:
The fourth type of Qatl, is defined by section 321 as “whoever without any intention to
cause death of, or cause harm to, any person, does any lawful act which becomes a
cause for the death of another person, is said to commit qatl-bis-sabab.”
This type of Qatl is only punished by Diyat.
Given that Qisas, Diyat and Ta’zir feature prominently in the legal address of Qatl, it is
only fair to add descriptions for these three.

Qisas embodies the retributive theory of punishment and means that crimes must be
reciprocated by punishments where the sanction is equal in gravity to the crime
committed (i.e. the infamous example of an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth fits as
an example). The concept of Qisas is defined in the PPC as per Section 299 (K)
“punishment by causing similar hurt or Qatl (murder) at the same part of the body of the
convict as he has caused to the victim or by causing his death if he has committed Qatl-
e-amd (intentional killing), in exercise of the right of the victim or a wali (heir of the
victim, or the provincial government if there is no heir)”. The victim can also waive the
right of Qisas if he wishes to, however after paying compensatory money to the victim or
imprisonment. Qisas is also pre-empted for convicts of Qatl who are minors or insane or
when the victim is the child or grandchild of the perpetrator or when a wali[3] of the
victim is a direct descendant of the offender[4] or when the hurt has been caused at the
insistence of the victim or when the organ of the offender liable to Qisas is missing[5].
Tazir is defined by s.299(L) PPC and is a punishment where the substance of the
penalty is left to the discretion of the judge.[6]
Section 299(e) defines Diyat to be monetary compensation to be paid to the heirs of the
victim, the value of which is left to the discretion of the judge presiding over the case.
The compensation cannot however be less than the value of thirty thousand six hundred
and thirty grams of silver, according to section 323 of the Pakistan Penal Code.[7]
This lays out the punitive structure for the crime of Qatl under the Pakistan Penal Code.
The punishment of death is part of this structure and this attracts voices opposing it, in
view of the right to life. This however is not possible as the punishment is added to the
Penal Code by the stipulations of Islamic law. Given that Islam is the popular religion in
Pakistan, the removal of this penalty seems unlikely. Also, majority of the Pakistani
community supports the harsh retributive approach of this law and therefore it hails
more support for its imposition, particularly for the crime of Qatl. But it must not be
forgotten that the Penal Code allows for a wide array of punishments, besides that of
death, for the crime of murder. These have been moderated according to the varying
elements of intent in each type of Qatl. This seems to reflect the approach of the PPC
which tries to maintain proportionality, in every punitive sentence it mandates.