PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday suspended the execution of a death-row prisoner sentenced by a military court.
His lawyer told a two-judge bench comprising of Justice Qalandar Ali Khan and Justice Ishtiaq that Hazrat Ali was arrested by security forces back in 2009 from Karak district when he was 18 years old.
The lawyer maintained that he was accused of killing famous qawwal Amjid Sabri in Karachi and was awarded the death sentence on April 3.
The lawyer asked the court to direct the military court to halt Ali’s execution and that he should be given more time to defend the allegations leveled against his client.
The two-judge bench stopped the authorities from going forward with the death penalty and sought a reply from the defense ministry till the next hearing of the case.
The qawwali maestro had been shot dead by motorcycle-borne gunmen in Karachi’s Liaquatabad back in 2016 when he was traveling from his home to a television studio to attend an iftar transmission.
The targeted killing triggered a nationwide outpouring of grief with tributes for the famous musician pouring in from all over the world.