ISLAMABAD:
A day after Saulat Mirza’s confessional video was released, a stay order on his execution for a period of 90 days was sent to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, according to sources.
Mirza, a target killer, was sentenced to death in 1999 on charges of murdering former managing director of Karachi Electric Supply Corporation Shahid Hamid along with his driver Ashraf Brohi and guard Akbar Khan in July 1997 in Karachi.
In the video released just hours before he was due to be executed, Mirza alleged that he received the order for the ‘hit’ from Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain at MQM leader Babar Ghauri’s residence.
The government has been in talks with legal experts pertaining to Mirza’s case and it is expected that a decision will be reached today.
Mirza is also expected to record his statements in front of a magistrate. All the names mentioned in the video will also be questioned.
Following Mirza’s concerns expressed in his video about the security of his family, five policemen were deployed outside his home on Thursday.