A petition was moved in the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry on Monday to abolish death penalty in the country. The petition was filed by the Watan Party and Barrister Zafarullah Khan making the federation, Law and Justice Ministry and Interior Ministry respondents in the matter. He said because of the weak prosecution system and overwhelming corruption, mostly innocent people were sentenced to death and hanged like it happened in the case of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Referring to the constitution, the petitioners contended that the “right to life” was a natural right embodied in Article 9 and unnatural termination of life was incompatible and inconsistent with the concept. They requested the court to save innocent people from being wrongfully convicted by the system by abolishing death penalty as it was unconstitutional.