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LHC issues notification to Punjab home secretary to appear in court on Tuesday
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Convict’s final meeting with the family to be at 3 pm on October 16
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday heard the appeal of Amin Ansari, father of seven-year-old Zainab who was raped and murdered in Kasur, demanding public hanging of convict Imran Ali.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Sardar Shamim Ahmed and Justice Shehbaz Rizvi took up the appeal.
“The convict is a serial killer and will be hanged day after tomorrow [Wednesday],” Advocate Ishtiaq Chaudhry told the court.
The bench issued a notification to Punjab home secretary to appear in court on Tuesday.
In a written petition on Saturday, Ansari had demanded public hanging of convict Imran Ali, stating that the Anti-Terrorism Act’s (ATA) Clause 22 allowed the government to hang a convict in public.
FINAL MEETING:
The Jail authorities issued a notification for the convict Imran Ali’s final meeting with his family, to be held at 3 pm on October 16 within jail quarters.
According to official instructions, no more than 50 persons shall be allowed to meet the death row inmate. Those who will visit the jail to meet Imran will also be liable to carry their national identity cards.
It is pertinent to mention that Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), while issuing the death warrants of Imran Ali on October 12, had ordered to hang him till death on October 17 at Central Jail in Lahore.
On February 2017, Imran was handed four separate death sentences after being convicted of the rape and murder of Zainab.
He further received life imprisonment and fine totalling Rs3.2 million ($30,000) for additional charges of hiding the victim’s body. One million rupees of the fine was also decided to be given in compensation to Zainab’s family.
On June 12, Supreme Court (SC) had turned down Imran’s plea against the death sentence.
Zainab was found dead in a skip on January 9, 2017, in Kasur district near Lahore several days after her disappearance.
Imran was arrested two weeks after he committed the crime that ignited nationwide protests. Taking suo moto notice, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar ordered the concerned authorities to submit a report within 24 hours.
The rape and murder of Zainab Ansari was the 12th such case in Kasur district in the last year.