MUZAFFARABAD: The family of Shafqat Hussain on Wednesday appealed to the government and judiciary to save the death row convict from his execution which is scheduled to take place on March 19.

In 2001, Shafqat had allegedly murdered a child named Umair, and was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court in 2004. He was 14-years-old at the time. Mercy appeals for Shafqat were rejected by the high court in 2006, Supreme Court in 2007 and the presidency in 2012.

Shafqat's mother Makhni Begum, along with her daughter Samira bibi, held a press conference today, during which she alleged that her son was innocent. She said three suspects had been arrested in the case, but only her son was convicted while the other two were let go.

Also read: ATC issues black warrant for Shafqat Hussain, to be executed on March 19

Makhni Begum further said that no one was fighting her son's case which is why he was set to be executed.

"For God sake don't bereave me of my Shafqat ... He is my last child ... Please don’t snatch him from me,” pleaded Makhni Begum.

"Save my Shafqat from falling victim to injustice," she continued in what was a last-ditch attempt to influence the authorities to halt his execution.

She reiterated that Shafqat was a minor at the time when he was sentenced to death, and that according to the law, a minor cannot be sentenced to a death penalty.

Also read: Would we hang a 14-year-old 'terrorist'?

She added that if her son was executed, it would be a great injustice. She called on human rights organisations and other institutions to play a role in saving her son.

'No proof of age'

The question regarding Shafqat being a juvenile was not raised during any of the court proceedings, but after his mercy appeals were rejected by the presidency and various courts, the point regarding Shafqat being a minor was raised.

Pakistan's Interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Tuesday said the Sindh government had turned down his proposal to conduct a DNA test of condemned prisoner Shafqat Hussain to determine his age.

“When he was sent to jail in Karachi, as per the available record, the jail doctor had determined his age as 25 years and the jail authorities as 23 years. All these things are on record,” said Chaudhry Nisar.

Shafqat's mother said the police had noted his age as 23 years old and since he had no ID documents, neither the court nor his defense lawyer ever challenged that.

“Shafqat, too scared and suffering from a learning disability, did not find it in himself to disagree with anything that the police had told him to say, for fear of being tortured again,” she said.

Pakistan has executed 48 convicts since the moratorium on the death penalty was lifted following the horrific terrorist attacks on the Army Public School in Peshawar last year.

Shafqat's brother, Manzoor, regretted that despite the announcement by Nisar to investigate the matter of the convict's age, no one made any contact with the family.

"I request everyone ─ from President, to Prime Minister, to Interior Minister, to the Chief Justice of Pakistan ─ in the name of Allah and in the name of humanity, stop his execution and instead order a fair retrial to uphold justice," he pleaded.