July 24, 2002	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 13,1423

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MIANWALI, July 23: Four murder convicts managed to save themselves from the gallows after agreeing to pay Rs8 million and eight girls of their family as “compensation” to the aggrieved party.

The deal was struck at Abbakhel, 12 kilometres from here, on Tuesday in a mammoth gathering of religious scholars, notables of the district, politicians, and the public.

Sardar Khan, Muhammad Akram Khan, Muhammad Ashraf Khan and Asmatullah Khan were awarded death sentence in a double-murder by the district and sessions judge, Mianwali, in 1988.

After the rejection of their appeals by the superior courts and the president, the convicts and their relatives sought the help of influential people.

They approached the Nawab of Kalabagh who yielded considerable influence on the aggrieved camp. The latter demanded Rs12 million in compensation and 20 young girls as per the local tradition called Vani.

But, with the efforts of Malik Asad Khan of Kalabagh, Obaidullah Khan Shadikhel, former MNA, Malik Taj Muhammad Kund, former MPA, Amirabdullah Khan Punnkhel, Mazhar Qayyum of Piplan, Qazi Zafar Hussain, and Sajada Nasheen of Chakrala, the aggrieved party brought down its demand to Rs8 million and eight unmarried young girls. One of the girls, who is 18, will be married to an 80-year- old man.