LAHORE: In another trial held inside a prison, an anti-terrorism court on Saturday awarded death sentence on 12 counts to Imran Ali, the convict in the Zainab rape-cum-murder case, in three more similar cases carrying same charges.

ATC Judge Sajjad Ahmad Sheikh handed down the penalty judgement after prosecution established the role of 24-year-old Imran Ali in the rape and murder of three minor girls — Ayesha, Laiba and Noor Fatima of Kasur.

The court sentenced the convict to death on four counts in each case, besides imposing a collective fine of Rs10 million and Rs5m as diyat to be paid to the minors’ families.

The court had on Feb 17 awarded death sentence on four counts to Ali in the Zainab murder case. Appeals of the convict against the sentence were dismissed by all courts.

Court also imposes a fine of Rs10 million and Rs5m as diyat to be paid to families

According to Dawn.com, Ali was involved in at least nine incidents of rape-cum-murder of minors he had confessed to during the Zainab case investigation.

In all three cases, Ali was found guilty under sections 364-A (kidnapping or abducting a person under the age of fourteen), 376 (3) (rape of minor) and 302-B (punishment for qatl-i-amd) of the Pakistan Penal Code and section 7(a) (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

According to the judgements, Ali has been sentenced to death on a total of 12 counts (4 counts for each victim), fined Rs6m (Rs2m per victim) and ordered to pay Rs3m (Rs1m per victim) as compensation to the victims’ families. In case of failure to pay the fine or compensation, he will have to undergo another six months imprisonment.

The first information reports of all three cases were registered in different months of 2017. The ages of the three victims were five, seven and eight.

Zainab’s rape and murder earlier this year had sparked outrage and protests across the country after the six-year-old, who went missing on Jan 4, was found dead in a trash heap in Kasur on Jan 9.

Her case was the twelfth such incident to have occurred within a 10km radius in Kasur city over a 12-month period.

The heinous nature of the crime had seen immediate riots breakout in Kasur in which two people were killed, while #JusticeforZainab became a rallying cry for an end to violence against children.

The Punjab government had declared the arrest of Ali, the prime suspect, on Jan 23.

On June 12, the Supreme Court rejected Ali’s appeal against the death sentence handed to him for the rape and murder of Zainab, noting that the petitioner had admitted committing similar offences with eight other minor victims and “in that backdrop, he did not deserve any sympathy in the matter of his sentences”.

Ali had filed the appeal challenging the death sentence handed to him in February, claiming his trial was not fair. He still has the right to seek clemency from President Mamnoon Hussain.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...