The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the executions of three convicts sentenced to death by a military court.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Azmat Saeed was hearing appeals by convicts Shafqaat, Sabir Shah and Muhammad Liaquat against the punishment handed to them.

Liaquat was charged with attacking a journalist, while Shafqaat and Shah were accused of killing a lawyer, Arshad Ali, in Lahore.

The court today halted implementation of the punishments handed to the convicts and issued notices to those party in the case.

The case was adjourned indefinitely.

Kidnapping accused released after 8 years in jail

The Supreme Court today ordered that a man sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court eight years ago be released as the prosecution was unable to prove a case against the accused.

A case had been registered at a police station in Malakand against the accused Shahraaz for kidnapping for ransom.

A trial court sentenced him to life in jail, and a high court subsequently upheld the sentence.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa today heard the case.

Justice Khosa observed that although cases are real, witness statements can be falsified. "Manufactured witness statements can lead to the acquittal of the actual criminals," he pointed out.

The court noted that the prosecution had been unable to prove the case against the accused, and there was conflict between the witness statements.

Thus, the court ordered Shahraaz be released from jail.