RAWALPINDI, May 22: An Anti Terrorist Court (ATC) on Monday awarded death sentence to four and life imprisonment to three persons for being part of a plan to assassinate Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Judge Safdar Malik announced the judgment amid tight security in open court. He extended benefit of doubt to the eighth accused and acquitted him of the charge.

The judgment was announced late at night and all the accused were brought in the court from Adiala jail, Rawalpindi.

Convicts Noor Badshah, Qari Muhammad Siddique, Sulman alias Zaheer and Qari Ahmed Jan were sentenced to death.

The court awarded life imprisonment to three real brothers — Qari Abdul Basit, Abdul Munam and Muhammad Nisar. All the seven convicts were further sentenced to undergo ten years imprisonment under the Explosive Substance Act and pay a fine of Rs500,000 each. The court also ordered confiscation of their properties.