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Court order for Shafqat's execution has shattered our hopes, says family
MUZAFFARABAD: The family of a man condemned to death as a teenager made an emotional appeal for mercy Friday, saying a court order for his execution next week had “shattered their hopes”.
An anti-terrorism court in Karachi gave instructions Thursday to hang Shafqat Hussain, convicted of killing a seven-year-old boy in 2004, on March 19.
Explore: ATC issues black warrant for Shafqat Hussain, to be executed on March 19
Hussain's case has triggered outrage from rights campaigners, who complain he did not get a fair trial and was only 15 at the time of the killing.
His mother Makhni Begum, who last saw Hussain in jail in 2005, insisted he was innocent in an emotional interview with AFP in Kashmir, where the family are from.
Take a look: Footprints: Lives and a death on hold
“All my hopes are shattered today. I have no faith in the justice of this country,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“It was my last desire to see my son but now this hope is also dying. Now I am pleading with God for my son's life,"
Hussain was working as a watchman in the sprawling, violent metropolis of Karachi in 2004 when a seven-year-old boy went missing from the neighbourhood.
A few days later the boy's family received calls from Hussain's mobile demanding a ransom of half a million rupees ($8,500 at the time), according to legal papers.
Hussain was arrested and during his first interrogation admitted kidnapping and killing Umair, whose body was found in a plastic bag in a stream.
Hussain later withdrew his confession, saying he had made it under duress, but the case came before an anti-terrorism court which sentenced him to death.
Begum said Hussain, the youngest of seven children, had run away from home to escape the grinding poverty the family lived in, hoping to make a better life for himself in Karachi, only for disaster to strike soon afterwards.
“One of our relatives called us from Karachi and let us know that our son is in Karachi and has been in jail in a murder case,” she said.
Hussain had been due to face the noose on January 14 but the government halted the execution amid protests about his age, and ordered an investigation.
Jail officials said Thursday the interior ministry had rejected the age plea and a fresh death warrant had been issued.
Reintroducing the death penalty was part of Pakistan's move to step up the fight against militants since a Taliban massacre at a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in December.
Examine: Death penalty moratorium lifted completely in Pakistan: Officials
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.
Read more: Pakistan should reverse lifting of moratorium on death penalty: HRW
Two men convicted of rape and murder were hanged in the eastern city of Faisalabad on Friday, bringing to 27 the total executed since the government rescinded its ban.
Take a look: Two more condemned prisoners hanged in Faisalabad jail
Comments (30) Closed
Every culprit in this country claims himself/herself innocent. Nothing new!
if he was 15 then he should have dealt differently from others criminals
Every 18-19 years old criminal claims to be 15 when caught. Must be medically examined by a military doctor. Do not forget the mother of 7 year old kid whom he abducted and killed for ransom.
Anybody bothered about the victim? The victim was only 7
At no age one has the right to kill other ...
If you are old enough to plan a crime for money you are old enough to understand that what you are doing is wrong. Very sad, but that is justice.
@Naxalite True. But there have been lots og instances og miscarriage of justice, especially when ut comes to poor defendants.
What If evidence against him is concocted?
Ask the parents of that 7 year old if Hussain is innocent and/or has been delt indiscriminately.
Nobody should have a Licence to kill others, either under age or overage. All these are man-made age limits which have been changed over time. Criminals are criminals. There should be no exemptions.
So no juvenile justice board in Pakistan ?
This is obviously not a terrorism case ... so why is his execution being fast tracked? All the while an obvious terrorist by the name of Qadri had his ATC verdict quashed.
I am not defending the murderer, he should get what he did but again in Pakistan his family must realize that their son is not mumtaz qadri. No one is going to support him. Yes people like qadri are not going to hanged. Different justice for different people.
if he was indeed 15 when he committed the murder, then there is no way he should be hanged. 15 is not a concrete age. However, medically it should be proven that he was below 18 at the time of murder.
If you are old enough to plan a abduction and then killing crime for money you are old enough to understand that what you are doing is wrong. Justice should be done... fair trial should be given. Hang if found guilty.
Shattered your hopes!!!! What about the families of the people that he murdered dont they count? He knew what he was doing now let him pay for it!!
How can you?? Pakistan do not provide education /jobs to kids, and then they become crimnals, kids have no one to lookup to our leaders are corrupt, what an illitrate kid of 14 years will do. Punish him but not Death Penalty. There is no fairness in Judicial system in Pakistan, you can buy witness openly, how can you have death penalty in this situation when there is little chance of fairness.
We also would like to hear about the feelings and emotions of the mother of the seven year old victim whose body was found in a plastic bag. Then we'll talk about justice.
Yes he should be punished but if he was the son of a rich family he would have gotten off.
Umair would have been 17 years old, probably doing his A levels. This chowkidar , hired to guard the residents, betrayed their trust and murdered this little boy, for man made money.He must pay for his crime, otherwise others will do it as well. His family should now know what Umair's family have gone through.
quite bizarre, don't you have any sympathy for murdered little boy? Is this piece is intended to arouse compassion for a convicted criminal? A distasteful attempt at sounding liberal and progressive. Liberalism is not akin to commiserating with criminals and by doing so pour salt over wounds of victim's family.
But hardly any militant is getting hanged........
An amount of RS 50,ooo would have been enough for a boy of 14 and normally that is what a 14 year old would ask for. The cell phone should be checked for finger prints to check if somebody else used the phone. A 14 year old would normally run away if he didnt get the money and leave the 7 year behind.This case needs to be reopened.
People are just forgetting how fragile our justice system. Are we 100% sure that in Pakistan no innocent person can be convicted of a murder?
If he really committed the crime then he should be punished for this, agree ! But I don't have trust on this system.
Sorry.
Everyone is innocent according to their mums, what about the hopes and dreams of the parents of the child he killed do they not have any rights.
@Ayesha ...Wow... Well Said!!!
In United States you can be tried as an adult for heinous crimes, underage does not give you license to kill.
I am all for the death penalty for hardened and convicted criminals/murderers/rapists, but certainly NOT in favour of killing a juveline. This MUST stop.
People who quickly take to typing a comment, using words like 'juvenile' etc first need to go through horrors of victim's family' waiting for justice for years.
Most of "suicide-bombers" are also underage! Will you also defend them from being branded 'terrorist' over killing of more than 50,000 Pakistanis, just because they happen to be underage?
Even Slat mirza's wife maintain that he is innocent.
Even if we accept he was only 15 at the time of killing.. Look at his guts that he had killed 7 yr old boy for the sake of money.. imagine this guy is bailed out and it will give him another reason to kill someone else or even join a target killing gang just to get some money ... we should not tolerate such a thing any more.. he is not a baby ... practically and Islamically by the age of 15 you have reached puberty making you adult bearing consequences of your actions..