A family matter: Jail authorities refuse to let man meet nephew on death row

Attaullah's execution was postponed by the SHC due to the trial court's failure to follow rules.

SUKKUR: When Muhammad Azeem heard that his nephew was going to be hanged on December 23, he bought tickets for a bus to Sukkur. He left Karachi on Sunday night with 20 other relatives and was waiting to meet Attaullah inside Sukkur Central Jail at 8am on Monday but the prison authorities didn't let him.

Attaullah alias Qasim, son of Muhammad Hashim, is affilitated with the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and is said to be involved in several murders and bomb blasts.

"I found out about my nephew's activities when he was arrested for murder," said 75-year-old Azeem while talking to The Express Tribune outside Sukkur jail. "I travelled in this cold weather from Karachi to Sukkur to meet my nephew but they did not give me permission to do so. I am going to sit here till they let me see him one last time." He added that the prison authorities had allowed Attaullah's father to go inside and he left soon after meeting his son.



Last week, an anti-terrorism court issued a black warrant for his execution at 6:30am on December 23, however, the Sindh High Court (SHC) had to postpone this due to the trial court's failure to follow the rules - an execution has to take place seven to 21 days after a black warrant is issued, the ATC had fixed the date for execution within a week.

According to Azeem, Attaullah came from a low-income family and was one of seven siblings. His father, Hashim, runs a small shop in Quaidabad where he sells dupattas while his brothers sell cellphones.

"He [Attaullah] abandoned his education after he finished middle school and joined a religious seminary," said Azeem. "We have no idea what happened or how and when he turned into a criminal." He added that he would done something about it if he was aware of what was going on.

He claimed that his nephew's petition was still pending in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Azeem condemned the militant activities in the country and said that after hearing about the Peshawar incident where more than 130 children were killed he was unable to eat for the next four days. He added that he had not been able to forget the attack on Benazir Bhutto's caravan in October 2007 where more than 150 people were killed.

He claimed that it was the attitude of those in power in the country which made it possible for the militants to gain strength and attack. "Those who don't have mercy on the innocent should be dealt with accordingly," he said. "The government should draw a clear line between the culprits and the innocent."

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2014.