Death-row convicts: Hangings halted for 72 hours only, says Nisar

Saulat Mirza’s ill health and confusion over Shafqat Hussain’s age force delay in executions, NA told


Qamar Zaman March 20, 2015
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD:


Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday cleared the air about the 72-hour delay ordered by the authorities in the execution of two death-row prisoners Saulat Mirza and Shafqat Hussain, citing separate reasons for their temporary reprieve.


The minister’s remarks were aimed at quashing feverish speculation in both political and civilian circles about the government’s motive.

“We have put on hold Saulat Mirza’s execution for 72 hours owing to health concerns on an application from the Balochistan government,” he told his fellow legislators in the National Assembly.

On the delay in Shafqat Hussain’s execution, the interior minister told the house that since there is confusion over Hussain’s age his hanging has been halted for now. According to the minister, there is no evidence that Hussain was juvenile at the time of his sentence.

“We have moved pillar and post for his [Shafqat Hussain’s] record,” he said. The authorities, he said, had contacted the National Database Regulatory Authority in Azad Jammu and Kashmir [Hussain’s place of birth] for information. Still, there is no evidence to prove he was a juvenile at the time of his conviction. Both Saulat Mirza and Shafqat Hussain were to be sent to the gallows on Thursday morning but just hours before their executions were halted.



‘No formal request’ to UK

A day after meeting the British high commissioner regarding the recent development involving the MQM, Chaudhry Nisar told lawmakers: “We have not made any formal request to the British government so far.” The minister also refuted international media reports suggesting otherwise.

The interior minister said British High Commissioner Philip Barton had come to meet him on Wednesday and there was a speech from the British side, adding that during the meeting remarks against Pakistan Rangers and the murder case of Dr Imran Farooq were also discussed.

However, he said there was no political motive behind Dr Farooq’s murder case. “It is our responsibility, being a Muslim country, to provide evidence as our only purpose is to crack the case,” the minister said in a brief policy statement.

Opposition on Nine-Zero raid

Lawmakers voiced their desire to find out more about what had happened during the March 11 Rangers raid on the MQM headquarters Nine-Zero in Karachi but the speaker said the opposition did not want the issue to be discussed on the floor of the house.

“The opposition has decided during the business advisory committee meeting that there should not be a discussion on the raid on Nine-Zero,” National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said while responding to the issue raised by Mehmood Khan Achakzai.

The MQM had initially submitted an adjournment motion for a discussion over the raid but later withdrew it.

The interior minister said, “He was even ready to brief the house during the first sitting [Monday] … and will again be ready whenever asked.”

Earlier, Achakzai had said, “We should be briefed about the raid on Nine-Zero as we want to know what was there and what has been found.”

Whereas Chaudhry Asadur Rehman from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) said. “How can the opposition deny us the right to know? The nation wanted to know the truth.”

Members of the MQM remained absent from the entire proceedings of the day and the issue was simply dropped.

IDPs to go back home

Minister for SAFRON Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadri Baloch informed the house that the process of sending back internally displaced persons (IDPs) would be completed by December 2016 and it would cost Rs81 billion.

He said a total of 2.8 million had to migrate and the process of repatriation had already started on March 16. Initially, the people of South Waziristan are being sent back to their homes.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2015.

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