Two more condemned prisoners hanged in Faisalabad jail

Published March 13, 2015
Both Akhtar and Sajid had been found guilty in separate offences of murder. —DawnNews screengrab
Both Akhtar and Sajid had been found guilty in separate offences of murder. —DawnNews screengrab

FAISALABAD: Two more death row prisoners were executed in Faisalabad Central Jail on Friday morning.

Both prisoners, Akhtar and Sajid, had been found guilty in separate offences of murder.

Anti-terrorism court (ATC), Faisalabad had awarded death sentence to Akhtar in 2001.

He had intruded into a house on December 10, 1999 and attempted to rape a woman. The culprit also stabbed to death the father-in-law of the victim named Manzoor, who had offered resistance to the culprit.

A compromised deal was reached late on Thursday night between the families of the victims and Akhtar to pardon the culprit late, but authorities rejected the case, terming all the cases of murder and rape as non-pardonable.

Know more: No pardon: Fresh black warrants for two death row inmates

The appeals of the convict had already been rejected by the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court. His mercy appeal was also turned down by the president.

The other death row convict, Muhammad Sajid, had killed a woman Khursheed Bibi and wounded her husband Azhar, on March 12, 2000, over a personal feud.

He was awarded death sentence by an ATC court in Faisalabad, on March 30, 2001.

Sajid's petitions were also turn downed by the superior courts and his mercy appeal had also been rejected by the president.

It was the first ever hangings at the Faisalabad Central Jail. Since resumption, all previous executions had taken place in the city's district jail.

Take a look: Nawaz removes moratorium on death penalty

With the latest hangings, the toll of executions to have taken place in Pakistan since the resumption on Dec 17, 2014 has reached 27.

Pakistan lifted its moratorium on the death penalty in all capital cases on March 10.

Initially executions were resumed for terrorism offences only in the wake of a Taliban massacre at an army-run school in Peshawar which had claimed the lives of more than 150 persons, mostly schoolchildren, on December 16, 2014.

The United Nations, the European Union, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called on Pakistan to re-impose its moratorium on the death penalty.

Death sentences 2014-15 timeline

Opinion

Enter the deputy PM

Enter the deputy PM

Clearly, something has changed since for this step to have been taken and there are shifts in the balance of power within.

Editorial

All this talk
Updated 30 Apr, 2024

All this talk

The other parties are equally legitimate stakeholders in the country’s political future, and it must give them due consideration.
Monetary policy
30 Apr, 2024

Monetary policy

ALIGNING its decision with the trend in developed economies, the State Bank has acted wisely by holding its key...
Meaningless appointment
30 Apr, 2024

Meaningless appointment

THE PML-N’s policy of ‘family first’ has once again triggered criticism. The party’s latest move in this...
Weathering the storm
Updated 29 Apr, 2024

Weathering the storm

Let 2024 be the year when we all proactively ensure that our communities are safeguarded and that the future is secure against the inevitable next storm.
Afghan repatriation
29 Apr, 2024

Afghan repatriation

COMPARED to the roughshod manner in which the caretaker set-up dealt with the issue, the elected government seems a...
Trying harder
29 Apr, 2024

Trying harder

IT is a relief that Pakistan managed to salvage some pride. Pakistan had taken the lead, then fell behind before...