KOHAT: Two members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakis­tan, sentenced to death by a military court last year, were executed in the Kohat district prison on Wednesday morning after rejection of their appeals by the presi­dent. The chief of army staff had earlier signed their death warrants.

The convicts were identified as Mehmood, son of Khwaja Khan of Dela area of Waziristan Agency, and Rab Nawaz, son of Shahi Room of Pir Qillah area of Peshawar.

Their sentence was announced by the Inter-Services Public relations (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistan Army, on Sep 21, 2015. But the ISPR had not mentioned when and where their trials had been held.

About Mehmood, the ISPR had stated: “The convict was an active member of Tehreek-i-Taliban. He was found involved in attacking law-enforcement agencies using improvised explosive devices and rocket-launchers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which resulted in death of 2 soldiers and injuries to 13 soldiers.”

It added that the convict had admitted to have committed the offences before a magistrate and trial court.

About Rab Nawaz, the ISPR had said: “The convict was an active member of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. He was involved in killing of two civilians, possessing firearms and abetting attack on armed forces at Peshawar which resulted in death of 2 soldiers and severe injuries to another.”

Before the hangings, law-enforcement agencies had taken adequate security measures to avert any untoward incident. Police carried out a search in area around the prison and strict checking of vehicles and pedestrians continued till Wednesday morning.

The area remained cordoned off before the executions and at the time of handing over of the bodies to the heirs.

A third convict, Fateh Khan of Khyber Agency, was also scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, but a day earlier the Peshawar High Court had stayed his execution on an application filed by his mother.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2016