KARACHI, March 3: A dozen people, including five daughters and a brother of Shaikh Amjad, a condemned prisoner who was to be hanged on Thursday morning, visited him on the eve of his execution.
Judge Arshad Noor Khan, who on Oct 3, 2001 had awarded capital punishment to the 57-year-old man for kidnapping and murdering his nextdoor neighbour, issued on Feb 25 the black warrant for the execution of the sentence.
The only son of the condemned prisoner, Usman Amjad, is in the United States. The judge authorised the jail superintendent to "carry out the sentence in the presence of a Ist Class magistrate and doctor at 5:30am."
The Karachi jail authorities said the last hanging was carried out on Aug 7, 2002. Convict Shahjahan was a Bengali-speaking man who had killed Prof Zahid Magsi during robbery at his house. He was also condemned to death by Judge Arshad Noor Khan.
The superintendent of Central Prison, Karachi, Ashraf Ali Nizamani, said that all arrangements for hanging had been made.He said five daughters, a sister-in-law, a brother-in-law, a maternal nephew, a niece and a cousin were among those who visited the condemned prisoner.
He said Shaikh Amjad, who has donated his eyes, had desired to talk to his son, who is in America, by the phone. "We could not fulfil his wish as there is no such provision in the jail rules," he said.
Following his conviction by the ATC, the convict moved an appeal against the judgment in the Sindh High Court on October 15. The SHC dismissed his appeal on April 16, 2002 and upheld the death sentence on two counts.
On May 23, 2002 the murderer filed appeal in the Supreme Court, which was also dismissed. Finally, Shaikh Amjad moved a mercy petition to the president, who rejected his plea on Feb 16.
The jail authorities told Dawn that there were still 105 condemned prisoners on the death row. Their appeals were pending disposal at different forums, they said.
