FAISALABAD, June 29: Four men convicted of gang-raping a Christian girl were executed in the district jail here on Thursday morning. Umer Hayat (32), Mubarik Ali (28), Mohammad Ashraf (34) and Shahzad Ahmed (29) had raped the daughter of Bashir Masih of Chak 144-RB (Chak Jhumra) on Nov 7, 1999.

The local Anti-Terrorism Court had decided the case on Dec 18, 1999, awarding capital punishment to all the four rapists. The Lahore High Court as well as the Supreme Court had also upheld the ATC’s verdict. After years long efforts, the convicts succeeded in getting pardon from the victim family. The apex court however refused to accept the pardon offer on the plea that there was no room for it in the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The president had also rejected their clemency appeals. The execution was carried out at the fifth death warrant. Action on earlier warrants was postponed each time on different grounds.