First prisoner hanged in four years

In his final testament, Hussain says he killed his superior over ‘honour’.

LAHORE:

Pakistan executed its first prisoner in four years on Thursday, sparking criticism from both local and foreign quarters.

Muhammad Hussain, a former soldier, was hanged before sunrise at Mianwali Jail after his clemency pleas were rejected and a formal death warrant was issued. He had been sentenced to death by court martial in February 2008 for killing his superior Havaldar Khadim Hussain over a personal dispute while the two were on leave.

In his last will and testament, Hussain maintained that the killing of his superior was a ‘matter of honour and nothing else’, jail officials familiar with the will revealed to The Express Tribune. They informed that he asked his family members in his final telephone conversation to inform Khadim Hussain’s family that there was no enmity between the two save for a matter of honour.

“I transfer my pension to my wife and children… my particular last will is that my brother takes care of them … I request my family to forgive any mistakes I have done in this life,” read Hussain’s will.

“Mohammad Hussain was executed in the presence of military officers,” said Farooq Nazeer, chief of prisons in the central province of Punjab, adding the army chief had rejected his petition for mercy.

After the army rejected the plea, Hussain filed another mercy petition to President Asif Ali Zardari but that was turned down as well, Deputy Superintendent of Mianwali Jail Muhammad Mansha told The Express Tribune.

Nazeer said the hanging was not a civilian execution and the government does not intervene in military cases.

The execution has attracted sharp criticism both at home and abroad. Human rights organisations and foreign governments called upon the country to review its moratorium on execution and work towards abolishing the death penalty.  The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) while criticising the execution, said it indicated that the government has changed its policy.

France was quick to condemn the move as well.

“This decision constitutes a step backwards in Pakistan’s move towards greater respect for human rights,” French foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot told reporters.

Amnesty International termed it “a blow to the country’s progress away from using the death penalty”.

“The death penalty is no less offensive to human dignity and the right to life just because the person to be killed happens to be a soldier,” said Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Programme, Polly Truscott, in a statement.

There had been a de facto moratorium on executions since the Pakistan Peoples Party returned to power in 2008. It made Pakistan one of 36 countries in the world observing a moratorium on the death penalty.

Human rights organisations support the ban, saying that the courts and police in Pakistan are too inept to ensure a fair trial.

“If you look at our investigation system, at the poor quality of the evidence produced in court, how can people get the death penalty on the basis of this?” said HRCP Chairperson Zohra Yusuf.

“Most come from underprivileged backgrounds and don’t have access to good legal help.”

Despite Hussain’s execution, however, activists do not expect the country’s moratorium on the death penalty will be lifted as this case involved someone in the military. The last execution, in December 2008, also involved the death of a soldier. (WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM AGENCIES)

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2012.