TOBA TEK SINGH: A murder convict who was hanged in the district jail on Tuesday has claimed innocence in his will, alleging he was wrongly implicated in the case by police at his rivals’ behest.

According to the letter containing the will of Sardar Ali that was read out by his son to those attending his funeral, Amanullah, the man he was convicted of killing, was his friend.

It said Ali was implicated in the murder by his rivals in connivance with the police concerned.

According to the prosecution, Ali had shot dead Amanullah during a scuffle between supporters of PPP and then PML candidates at a polling station at 358-GB Mughli village, Rajana, during by-poll for a National Assembly seat in 1993.

In the letter, Ali also sought an apology from his friends and relatives for any wrong he had done to them.

The district and sessions court had awarded Sardar Ali death sentence in 1996 and all his appeals in upper courts were rejected. His mercy appeal was also rejected by the president of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2016