July 13, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 9, 1429

ISLAMABAD, July 12: The Supreme Court will review from Monday a government plan to commute death sentences to life terms.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Mohammad Qaim Jan Khan and Justice Chaudhry Ejaz Yousaf is scheduled to take up the matter initiated by the court by invoking its suo motu jurisdiction. A report has suggested that about 7,000 death-row prisoners will benefit from the plan.

Apparently the suo motu notice was taken because the court could not take any decision on a large number of pending appeals by convicts facing death sentence, a legal expert told Dawn.

Last week, the chief justice asked the government to explain its position on the issue. On April 28, he had asked Attorney-General Malik Mohammad Qayyum to find out if the government had plans to introduce legislation on the matter.

Initiating the suo motu proceedings, the chief justice had directed the attorney-general and the ministries of interior and law to submit their replies.

On June 21, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had announced his government’s intention of recommending to the president to commute the death sentences of thousands of prisoners into life imprisonment as part of a birthday tribute to slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto.

Meanwhile, a bench comprising Justice Mohammad Moosa K. Leghari, Justice Mohammad Akhtar Shabbir and Justice Mohammad Farrukh Mahmud will resume hearing on the federal government’s appeals against Lahore High Court’s order of disqualifying PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif from contesting a by-election and referring a challenge to the candidature of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to an election tribunal.

A bench had postponed the by-election for the National Assembly seat NA-123, Lahore, where Mr Sharif was a candidate.