LAHORE: Rights activist Asma Jahangir has said executing a paraplegic, Abdul Basit, will be an inhuman act.

In a statement, she said 43-year-old Basit was likely to be executed in Faisalabad soon. He is paralysed down the waist and is on a wheelchair. His mother Parveen said she saw scars from ropes on Basit’s wrists when she met him recently.

Asma strongly condemned this act of officials and said civilised societies should treat a patient like a patient should be treated. “Basit is paralysed and officials should stop torturing him inside the jail. The decision to execute him should also be suspended, she demanded.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2015

Opinion

Editorial

Rigging claims
Updated 04 May, 2024

Rigging claims

The PTI’s allegations are not new; most elections in Pakistan have been controversial, and it is almost a given that results will be challenged by the losing side.
Gaza’s wasteland
04 May, 2024

Gaza’s wasteland

SINCE the start of hostilities on Oct 7, Israel has put in ceaseless efforts to depopulate Gaza, and make the Strip...
Housing scams
04 May, 2024

Housing scams

THE story of illegal housing schemes in Punjab is the story of greed, corruption and plunder. Major players in these...
Under siege
Updated 03 May, 2024

Under siege

Whether through direct censorship, withholding advertising, harassment or violence, the press in Pakistan navigates a hazardous terrain.
Meddlesome ways
03 May, 2024

Meddlesome ways

AFTER this week’s proceedings in the so-called ‘meddling case’, it appears that the majority of judges...
Mass transit mess
03 May, 2024

Mass transit mess

THAT Karachi — one of the world’s largest megacities — does not have a mass transit system worth the name is ...