Nine more delivered justice on the gibbet

• Three convicts escape gallows after reaching agreement with aggrieved parties while Saulat Mirza scheduled to be hanged today at 5am

As many as nine more death-row prisoners were executed in various jails across Punjab on Wednesday. With the latest executions, so far 48 convicts have been hanged across the country, after the deadly attack on Army Public School, Peshawar on December 16 last year.

ONE IN LAHORE:

Tahir Shabir, a resident of Lahore’s Sabzazar area, was hanged to death at the Kot Lakhpat Central Jail for killing a man, Irshad Ali, over a petty issue of placing a signboard at a shop in 2002. An anti terrorism court (ATC) had awarded him death sentence.

TWO IN JHANG:

Moreover, two convicts, Ghulam Muhammad and Zakir Hussain, were hanged in District Jail Jhang. Both had been awarded death sentences by the district and sessions court Jhang.

Ghulam Muhammad had killed his brother-in-law in 2000 over a family dispute. The victim was supporting his sister in an earlier case against the culprit.

Zakir Hussain had killed a man Zulfiqar, who was a custodian of a shrine in 1998. Both the offender and the victim were engaged in a dispute over the shrine’s custodianship.

TWO IN FAISALABAD:

Two more prisoners, Shafqat and Saeed, were executed in Central Jail Faisalabad over a dual murder charge. They had killed two siblings Arshad and Anwar in 1998 over an old rivalry. A district court had awarded death sentences to both the culprits in 2001.

TWO IN PINDI:

Furthermore, Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Shabbir were hanged to death in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi. They were convicted by a sessions court against charges of murders and attempt to murder.

ONE IN MIANWALI:

Another death-row prisoner Ahmed Nawaz was executed in the Mianwali Jail. He was awarded death sentence by a district court for killing a man, Jawed Iqbal, in 1998.

Nawaz and Hashmat Khan were convicted for the murder of Iqbal, however Hashmat had died in jail.

ONE IN ATTOCK:

In the meanwhile, Asad Mehmood Khan was executed in the Central Jail Attock. He was awarded death sentence in a triple murder case. Khan had killed three people of a family in 2002.

SETTLEMENT SAVES THREE LIVES:

In the meanwhile, hangings of three convicts have been halted after their heirs managed to produce agreements between the plaintiffs and defending parties. Their cases have been referred to the respective trial courts.

Qadeer Ahmed was scheduled to be executed in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, while Azhar Mahmood and Muhammad Zaman were set to be hanged in Gujrat.

On the contrary, all the convicts hanged during the day had filed petitions in superior judiciary, seeking review of their sentences but the applications were dismissed. Their mercy appeals had also been turned down by President Mamnoon Hussain.

Some 8,000 convicted prisoners are in death row in various jails across the country.

MIRZA BRACES GIBBET TODAY:

In addition, the authorities finalised arrangements to execute convicted prisoner Saulat Mirza at Machh Jail in Bolan district of Balochistan today at 5am.

Mirza was sentenced to death for killing Karachi Electric Supply Corporation Managing Director Shahid Hamid, his driver Ashraf Brohi, and security guard Khan Akbar in a July 1997.

Supreme Court dismissed a second review petition filed by the condemned prisoner against his sentence that was handed down to him by an anti-terrorism court in May 1999 for the triple homicide.

In April 2014, he was transferred to Machh Jail death cell after his mercy plea was rejected by Sindh High Court and president of Pakistan.