November 23, 2006	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 1, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 22: Clemency granted by the president to the British convict in a murder case, Mirza Tahir Hussain, was challenged in the Supreme Court here on Wednesday by the parents of the killed driver.

Mr Hussain flew back to his home in the United Kingdom on Friday after President Pervez Musharraf commuted his death sentence to life term following a campaign by his family, friends and politicians in Britain. Mr Hussain had been awarded death sentence for killing a taxi driver Jamshed Khan 18 years ago. Mr Hussain had remained in different jails of Pakistan for 18 years.

When contacted, advocate Rab Nawaz Noon told Dawn that he had drafted the petition which was jointly moved by Abdul Ghani and Zarwari, the father and mother of the deceased, respectively.

They contended that the president could not exercise the same jurisdiction twice since he had rejected Mr Hussain’s mercy appeal on March 18, 2006.

They alleged that Mr Hussain was let off by the president on the requests from UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Prince Charles.

The order of granting clemency and commutation of death sentence to a life term by the president, they pleaded, was against the law since the matter had been decided by the Shariat appellate bench of the Supreme Court.

The grant of clemency for the second time by the president was without jurisdiction because no mercy appeal was pending before him, they said.