CJP summons meeting to speed up pending terrorism trials

Former CJP says there are 400 culprits in various prisons of the country, whose mercy appeals have been rejected

PESHAWAR: Chief Justice of Pakistan Nasirul Mulk on Thurdsay announced to convene a meeting of judges of all high courts in the country to speed up trials of those on death row pending before anti-terrorism courts.

The decision comes a day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to lift a ban on death penalty in terrorism cases.

Speaking to lawyers of the Peshawar High Court, many of whom have lost loved ones in the attack on an army-run school in Peshawar, the CJP offered prayers for the departed souls and injured students.

“The attack on the Army Public School is a national tragedy,” he said.

“Peshawar is like my own home, upon hearing the news, I had to visit the city and meet the wounded,” he said.

Earlier, former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, while speaking to media representatives, contended that the ban on the implementation of death penalties was illegal.

“If the government wanted to impose such a ban then it should have made amendments in the Pakistan Penal Code. There are 400 culprits in various prisons of the country, whose mercy appeals have been rejected,” Chaudhry said.

Afterwards, Iftikhar Chaudhry went to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) while CJP Nasirul Mulk went to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) to meet the wounded.