Death sentence of military court convict halted

PHC summons record of the case at next hearing of the case

PESHAWAR: A high court on Wednesday halted the scheduled execution of a man, who had been sentenced to death by a military court for committing terrorism after the sentence was challenged.

The court directed the Defence Ministry to produce the complete record of the case at the next hearing of the case.

A two-judge bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), comprising Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, heard on Wednesday a petition submitted by Israr Ahmad, a resident of Kabal tehsil in Swat.



Ahmad contended in his petition that his son, Hafiz Nisar, had been arrested by soldiers from Kabal in September 2009. Until June 20, 2018, he said that the family was visiting him at the Kohat jail.

But later on, the Swat district police officer told them that Nisar’s name has been included in the list of convicts and that his legal heirs should be informed to visit the convict at the Kohat Jail.

The petitioner pleaded that he belongs to a respectable family and there is nothing on record against the convict or his family.

“The act of the respondents to grant death sentence is illegal and without lawful jurisdiction,” argued the lawyers for the petitioner including Barrister Mian Tajamul Shah, Ghulam Nabi Khan and Sardar Ahmad Yousafzai.

“It is a shameful exercise of authority and without any regards for the constitution and the rule of law,” they contended.

Ahmad’s lawyers claimed that Nisar had been convicted without a fair trial and that all of his fundamental rights had been violated, including that of a fair trial, representation through a lawyer, proper notice of trial to the family and other such rights.

The lawyers further argued that the 31st amendment to the Constitution provides that the trial of a terrorist can be conducted in the military court provided that such a terrorist uses violence in the name of religion, the concerned authority had booked him in an FIR and that the interior ministry forwards such a case to the military court for trial.

The counsels claimed that none of these rights was ensured before or during the trial of the convict.

They added that since the constitutional courts have jurisdiction to review the verdict of a military court, hence, the PHC was requested to set aside the punishment.



The lawyers further asked the court to declare as illegal, unconstitutional and against the fundamental rights the impugned proceedings and the sentence.

It should be set aside in the best interest of justice, they urged.

As interim relief, the lawyers have asked to suspend the order of death sentence till the final disposal of the writ petition.

The petitioner listed the deputy attorney general, defence and interior secretary as respondents in the case.

The court granted the request for interim relief and suspend the death sentence. It further directed the respondent to submit records of the case at the next hearing of the case. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2018.