MULTAN - Two condemned prisoners, belonging to a banned sectarian outfit, were hanged till death in the central jail here amid tight security on Wednesday.
Jail Superintendent Saeed Ullah Gondal confirmed the hangings and told journalists that the bodies of the hanged terrorists, Ahmad Ali alias Sheesh Naag and Ghulam Shabbir alias Fauji, had been handed over to their heirs. The bodies of Ghulam Shabbir and Ahmad Ali were taken to Tulamba and Shorkot, respectively.
An anti-terrorism court of Multan issued black warrants for both the condemned prisoners three days back as their mercy appeals were rejected by President Mamnoon Hussain.
The jail sources said the prison doctor examined both the convicts and declared them fit after which they were hanged till death at 5:30am and 6:30am, respectively.
The security of the jail had been taken by the sensitive institution while police and Elite Force troops had been deployed outside the jail to thwart any attack from terrorists in reaction to the hangings. All the shops in the area remained close till 9am on Wednesday as the shopkeepers had been directed by police to keep their shops closed on Tuesday night.
The jail sources disclosed that Sabir Masih who had been summoned from the Lahore jail to carry out the executions also inspected the gallows before the hangings. Area Magistrate Abid Shaukat, the jail doctor, Shahzad, and security officials were present at that time.
Earlier, the families of the convicts were brought to the jail amid tight security for the last meeting on Tuesday. Police sources said Ahmad Ali alias Sheesh Naag had shot dead one Altaf Hussain at Multan Hussaini Iron Works on Shah Risal Road on January 7, 1988. Two passersby, Nasir and Jamil, coming under fire, had also lost their lives. Bohar Gate police registered a case against him in 1988. An anti-terrorism court awarded him death sentence while his review petitions were rejected by Lahore High Court, Multan Bench, and the Supreme Court.
Similarly, Ghulam Shabbir alias Fauji was involved in the killings of DSP Anwar Khan and his driver on Bohar Gate Road on August 4, 2000, as well as two others, Qaim Hussain and Khadim Hussain, in New Multan area on October 22, 1998. A special court sentenced him to death on June 21, 2002, in a case registered against him by New Multan police in 1988. He was awarded death sentence by a special anti-terrorism court on June 21, 2002. His review appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court in 2009.
Ghulam Shabbir was a resident of village 21/8AR, Tulamba, tehsil Mianchannu, district Khanewal. He was laid to rest in his native town. His funeral prayer was offered in the playground of Government School village 21/8AR after Asr prayers amid the tight security arrangements made by the district police.