ISLAMABAD: Muhammad Amin Ansari, the father of seven-year old Zainab, who was sexually assaulted and murdered in Kasur earlier this year, has urged the heads of major political parties to request President Mamnoon Hussain to reject an appeal of his daughter’s murderer for clemency.
He wrote a letter to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Amir Sirajul Haq and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri.
In his letter, the victim’s father stated the president had not rejected his daughter’s murderer’s appeal for clemency yet. He wrote a letter to the head of state seeking rejection of the same but to no avail, he added.
Ansari said convict Imran Ali’s felony was unpardonable and that he should be given an exemplary punishment in order to bring closure to such crimes. He requested the top politicians to appeal to the president to reject the condemned prisoner’s plea for mercy at the earliest.
It merits mention that last month, Zainab’s father approached the Lahore High Court (LHC), requesting it to issue directives for the public hanging of the convict whose death sentence has been confirmed by the LHC and Supreme Court.
After the preliminary hearing, a bench of the LHC directed a provincial law officer to come up with his arguments, explaining the legal aspect of public executions.
An ATC had handed Imran four counts of the death penalty, one life term, a 7-year jail term and Rs4.1 million in fines.
Zainab case convict Imran also faces charges in the cases of at least seven other children he attacked, five of whom were murdered in a spate of assaults.
Imran has confessed to all eight attacks, including the death of Zainab Amin.