ASIF BASHIR CHAUDHRY & IMRAN MUKHTAR
ISLAMABAD - After the federal government lifted moratorium on executions in terrorism-related cases, the Ministry of Interior started working swiftly on the disposal of mercy petitions of condemned prisoners while Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif Thursday signed the death warrants of six hardcore terrorists who were awarded death sentence by a military court.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general tweeted on Thursday night that hardcore terrorists were sentenced to death by Field General Court Martial (FGCM) in accordance with law.
The process of execution of those prisoners who were awarded death sentences in a terrorism-related case, both from the military courts and the civil courts has commenced after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced to lift the moratorium on death sentence in terrorism-related cases in a multi-party conference that was held in Peshawar a day after the terrorist attack on a school there.
According to details, the six terrorists whose death warrants have been signed were involved in the heinous terrorist attacks, including one on the GHQ, Rawalpindi.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Interior, on the instructions of the Prime Minister Office, has started fast-tracking the disposal of all mercy petitions of the condemned prisoners who were awarded death sentence in terrorism cases. The ministry has also asked all the provincial home departments to start work on the execution of those prisoners whose mercy petitions had been rejected by the President.
Under the procedure, when the President of Pakistan rejects the mercy petition of a prisoner, the Ministry of Interior informs the provincial home department concerned of the rejection. The home department writes to the jail superintendent where the prisoner is kept. The jail superintendent gets black warrants from the district and sessions court and then the prisoner is executed at the set date and time.
“We are dealing with such 400 mercy petitions; after examining these cases, the President would be written for his final decision,” an official of the Law Wing of the Ministry of Interior said. He further said a list of those prisoners whose mercy petitions had been rejected by the President had been despatched to the provinces, he said and added these appeals were filed during the tenure of former president Pervez Musharraf. Most of the prisoners cleared for execution were involved in high-profile terrorist acts, including the attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
The official of the Ministry of Interior said the ministry had directed all the provincial home departments to furnish fresh lists of all the prisoners who had been awarded death sentence in terrorism-related cases, besides sending a report to the ministry soon. He explained that the mercy petitions were kept pending at two places; some were kept pending with the ministry – were not sent to the President due to the moratorium; and some were lying pending with the President for the same reason.
Some petitions that had already been rejected were also lying with the ministry and now had been forwarded to the provinces. According to rough estimates, there are around 1,000 convicts in the country, who have been awarded death sentences in terrorism cases. According to Amnesty International, there are total 8,000 prisoners awaiting death sentence in jails.
The former PPP government had placed a moratorium on death sentences after it came to power in 2008. The incumbent government, in the beginning, announced that it would lift moratorium, but later it extended the moratorium on the pressure of the European Union at a time when Pakistan was being given GSP Plus status. Now the government feels that after the school attack incident, the European Union would not object to the execution of prisoners in terrorism cases.
Meanwhile, the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) of the Ministry of Interior has issued a security alert, warning of possible jailbreaks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following the lifting of the moratorium on death sentences as hardcore terrorists had been kept in the jails of that province, especially in Haripur.
CJP SAYS TERROR CASES TRIAL
BEING EXPEDITED
Staff Reporter from Peshawar adds: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Nasirul Mulk said on Thursday that a meeting of all the administrative judges of High Courts has been convened to devise a strategy for expediting trial in terrorism cases in courts.
“We are going to expedite the cases of terrorism and decide it in accordance with law” the CJP said this in his address to a condolence meeting at the PHC Barroom. He condemned the Peshawar incident and termed it a national tragedy.
Earlier, Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA), Muhammad Essa Khan, demanded of the CJP to expedite and ensure the trial in terrorism cases on day-to-day basis as per the law.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan offered Fateha for the departed souls of the students and staff of the school and college and called it a national tragedy.
He also visited the CMH along with Corps Commander Peshawar and inquired the health of the injured students.
Meanwhile, former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry also visited the PHC Bar and offered Fateha for the departed souls. He also visited Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and inquired the health of the injured students.
Talking to media persons, the former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry termed the moratorium on death penalty as the government’s negligence. He supported the end of moratorium on execution of condemned terrorist prisoners and said that the government should have done it earlier.