PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Wednesday stayed the execution of a convict and suspended the sentence of death awarded to him by a military court recently for attacking and killing some Pakistan Army personnel.

Justice Qalandar Ali Khan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim issued notice to the defence ministry seeking records of the case of the convict, Hazrat Ali, a resident of South Waziristan, whose father Mohammad Ali has filed a petition challenging his conviction.

The bench fixed Apr 18 for next hearing of the case.

Asks defence ministry to produce case records

The Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistan Army, had on Apr 2, 2018, announced the sentences of death awarded to 10 terrorists including Hazrat Ali and the confirmation of their sentences by the Chief of Army Staff.

The ISPR has claimed that Hazrat Ali son of Mohammad Ali was a member of a proscribed organisation and that he was involved in attacking law-enforcement agencies, which had resulted in the death of Havildar Wahab Ali and three other soldiers.

It added that the convict had confessed to his offence before the judicial magistrate and the trial court.

Ali Gohar, lawyer for the petitioner, said the convict had gone missing from Tank on Dec 10, 2009, and his client had searched for him during that period.

He said the petitioner came to know from media reports that his son had been convicted and sentenced to death by a military court but details of when and where he was convicted were unavailable.

The lawyer said the petitioner had asked the respondents, including defence ministry, for a copy of the conviction judgment, but to no avail.

He said the judgment and its confirmation was against the law, Constitution and criminal justice system.

The lawyer said his client’s son had been awarded capital punishment, which was a violation of Article 10-A of the Constitution, which guaranteed fair trial to an accused person.

He said the convict had no affiliation with any terrorist outfit; there was nothing on record to connect him with the commission of any offence, and he was a peaceful citizen.

Since the setting up of military courts for trying militants, the high court has dismissed several petitions of identical nature against judgments of military courts.

The Supreme Court had also upheld the high court decisions. Currently, several review petitions in this respect are pending with the apex court.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2018