Capital punishment: Sindh gets ready to open its gallows
Six out of a total of 457 death row prisoners in Sindh will be the first ones to be executed.
SUKKUR/KARACHI:
Shortly after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the moratorium on capital punishment, the jail administration in Sindh started getting its gallows ready.
Six out of a total of 457 prisoners on death row will be the first ones to be executed as their appeals and petitions have been rejected by the president and the courts, officials told The Express Tribune. Once the court issues black warrants, four prisoners in Sukkur, which include terrorists, and two men in Karachi are likely to be the first few prisoners to be hanged.
According to prison minister Manzoor Wasan, the mercy petitions of six prisoners were rejected out of a total of 457 prisoners on death row across jails in the province. Around 250 inmates belong to terrorist groups and banned outfits, he added.
In Sindh’s biggest jail, Central Prison Karachi, 151 persons have been awarded the death sentence. Two of these prisoners lost their appeals in court and with the president, and will now be executed soon after the court issues their black warrant.
Behram Khan is one such prisoner who is the front in line, according to Karachi jail officials. He was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court for killing a lawyer, Muhammad Ashraf, in the premises of the Sindh High Court in April 2003. His mercy petition was rejected by former president Asif Ali Zardari but he had been surviving so far through stay orders issued by Zardari, and the current president, Mamnoon Hussain.
The second prisoner in Karachi who belongs to the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan was sentenced to death for murder. The jail authorities refrained, however, from disclosing his name.
In Karachi, eight prisoners have their mercy petitions lying with the president. A total of 115 prisoners have their appeals pending in the Sindh High Court, 20 prisoners have their appeals pending in the Supreme Court and one is pending in General Headquarters.
A jail official said that most of the prisoners on death row are those who were convicted by the anti-terrorism court. The inmates on death row are all Pakistani nationals. Two women prisoners are also on death row; one of them is in the Karachi jail.
95 on death row in Sukkur
In Sukkur, there are 977 prisoners in jail. Out of these, 95 have been awarded the death penalty, according to the superintendent of Central Jail, Sukkur, Shahid Hussain Chijro.
“The petitions of 91 prisoners are pending on different stages, while four of them are awaiting execution,” he said. Chijro added that two of these inmates belong to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Hafiz Jaleel Morejo, against whom 21 black warrants have been issued, is also among those awaiting execution.
Fearing backlash from terrorists once the executions start taking place, the jail officials demanded security for their staff. “Jail officers should be provided bulletproof jackets and vehicles as we can be targeted once the hangings start,” said Karachi jail superintendent Kazi Nazeer Ahmed.
The last prisoner to be hanged in a prison in Sindh was 44-year-old Javed Malik, who was hanged in Karachi jail in February, 2008. He was the 57th prisoner to be hanged in the prison.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 18th, 2014.
Shortly after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the moratorium on capital punishment, the jail administration in Sindh started getting its gallows ready.
Six out of a total of 457 prisoners on death row will be the first ones to be executed as their appeals and petitions have been rejected by the president and the courts, officials told The Express Tribune. Once the court issues black warrants, four prisoners in Sukkur, which include terrorists, and two men in Karachi are likely to be the first few prisoners to be hanged.
According to prison minister Manzoor Wasan, the mercy petitions of six prisoners were rejected out of a total of 457 prisoners on death row across jails in the province. Around 250 inmates belong to terrorist groups and banned outfits, he added.
In Sindh’s biggest jail, Central Prison Karachi, 151 persons have been awarded the death sentence. Two of these prisoners lost their appeals in court and with the president, and will now be executed soon after the court issues their black warrant.
Behram Khan is one such prisoner who is the front in line, according to Karachi jail officials. He was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court for killing a lawyer, Muhammad Ashraf, in the premises of the Sindh High Court in April 2003. His mercy petition was rejected by former president Asif Ali Zardari but he had been surviving so far through stay orders issued by Zardari, and the current president, Mamnoon Hussain.
The second prisoner in Karachi who belongs to the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan was sentenced to death for murder. The jail authorities refrained, however, from disclosing his name.
In Karachi, eight prisoners have their mercy petitions lying with the president. A total of 115 prisoners have their appeals pending in the Sindh High Court, 20 prisoners have their appeals pending in the Supreme Court and one is pending in General Headquarters.
A jail official said that most of the prisoners on death row are those who were convicted by the anti-terrorism court. The inmates on death row are all Pakistani nationals. Two women prisoners are also on death row; one of them is in the Karachi jail.
95 on death row in Sukkur
In Sukkur, there are 977 prisoners in jail. Out of these, 95 have been awarded the death penalty, according to the superintendent of Central Jail, Sukkur, Shahid Hussain Chijro.
“The petitions of 91 prisoners are pending on different stages, while four of them are awaiting execution,” he said. Chijro added that two of these inmates belong to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Hafiz Jaleel Morejo, against whom 21 black warrants have been issued, is also among those awaiting execution.
Fearing backlash from terrorists once the executions start taking place, the jail officials demanded security for their staff. “Jail officers should be provided bulletproof jackets and vehicles as we can be targeted once the hangings start,” said Karachi jail superintendent Kazi Nazeer Ahmed.
The last prisoner to be hanged in a prison in Sindh was 44-year-old Javed Malik, who was hanged in Karachi jail in February, 2008. He was the 57th prisoner to be hanged in the prison.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 18th, 2014.