KARACHI, May 10: An anti-terrorism court on Thursday issued the black warrant for a convict who was condemned to death for a lawyer’s murder in 2003. The court fixed May 23 for his hanging.

Behram Khan was sentenced to death by the then judge of the ATC-III, Arshad Noor Khan, on June 25, 2003.

The court found him guilty of killing Advocate Mohammad Ashraf on April 15, 2003 on the premises of the Sindh High Court.

Later, the convict moved an appeal against his conviction in the Sindh High Court, but the SHC upheld the capital punishment.

He moved the Supreme Court, which also maintained the death sentence and dismissed his appeal.

Eventually, a mercy petition of the convict to the president of Pakistan was also rejected.

The jail authorities informed the court on May 9 about the dismissal of the mercy petition by the president and requested the court to issue the black warrant for the execution of the convict.

The judge, Ghulam Mustafa Memon, of the ATC-III, issued the black warrant on Thursday and directed the officials of the central prison Karachi to hang the convict at 4.30am on May 23.

Court officials and legal experts said it would be the first execution during the tenure of the Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition government.

According to the prosecution, Behram and Sub-Inspector Pir Bux had come to the high court to kill Advocate Qurban Ali Chauhan, who was the attorney for an accused being tried for the killing of Behram’s maternal uncle.

Behram entered the courtroom of Justice Zawar Hussain Jaffery of the SHC and, instead, killed Advocate Ashraf as the killers did not recognise Qurban by face.

Their intention was to kill Qurban as they had made queries about their target before committing the offence.

The court had also convicted Pir Bux of abetting the killing and sent him to prison for life.