The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday dismissed claims that death-row inmate Shafqat Hussain was a minor when he had committed his crime.
FIA sources confirmed that even in the jail records, Shafqat Hussain’s age was not 14 years at the time he was arrested, nor was he under the age of 18.
The FIA submitted its enquiry report regarding the inmates age at the time of arrest and conviction to the Interior Ministry on Saturday which will be sent to President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the Supreme Court’s Human Rights Cell as well.
A lot of confusion had arisen regarding inmate Shafqat Hussain’s age, with many claims coming to light that he was a minor at the time of his crime and should not be executed. Following the varied claims the FIA has constituted an investigation team to ascertain the facts.
According to the FIA report, a 2014 birth certificate from Azad Kashmir was fake, additionally the police and jail records do not show Shafqat as a minor. The report further reveals that at the time of sentencing the inmate was 23-years-old. Additionally the report claims that during the inmate’s trial the matter of him being underage was never raised and all claims to the effect are false.
Shafqat Hussain was convicted and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of a 7-year-old boy.
