FAISALABAD:
In the first executions since 2008, authorities in Faisalabad district jail hung two high-profile terrorists Aqeel, aka Doctor Usman and Arshad Mehrban Friday night after they said they were sorry for their deeds before a magistrate at the gallows.
Aqeel, aka Doctor Usman was convicted by a military court for masterminding the 2009 attack on the military headquarters, while Arshad Mehrban was convicted for the 2003 assassination attempt on the then military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.
“Yes, two militants Aqil alias Doctor Usman and Arshad have been hanged in Faisalabad jail,” Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada told AFP. A senior official from the provincial prison department also confirmed the executions.
“Six more convicted militants will be hanged in the coming days,” Khanzada said, referring to executions that come under his jurisdiction of Punjab.
The executions came 48 hours after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted an six-year moratorium on execution of convicts in terrorism cases, in the wake of the December 16 bloody rampage by Taliban gunmen at Army Public School in Peshawar.
Aqeel and Mehrban were among the six terrorists convicted by military courts and whose death warrants were signed by army chief General Raheel Sharif on Thursday. The death warrants reached Faisalabad’s Central Jail Thursday night, from where the two convicts were shifted to the district jail on Friday as there are no gallows in the Central Jail.
According to a jail official, “security arrangements were tightened at Central and District Jails before the executions and police commandos and personnel of elite force, rangers and army were deputed in and around the two prisons.”
“The jail authorities also made arrangement for the farewell meetings of the condemned convicts with their relatives,” he added.
Before their execution, medical checkup of the convicts was carried out as per jail laws and a special magistrate also recorded their last will, which were sealed and subsequently delivered to their heirs. The jail administration had also made arrangement for video recording of the executions which was also shared with the electronic media.
The dead body of Aqeel was formally received by his brother Muhammad Usman while the body of Mehrban was received by his brother Sarfraz Mehrban. Later, the bodies were sent in an ambulance to Rawalpindi’s RA Bazaar police station, where cases against the convicts were registered.
The diseased will be buried in the presence of police and security forces on Saturday in their hometown of Kahuta. Aqeel Ahmed, alias Dr Usman alias Kamran alias Nazir Ahmed – along with his seven accomplices – was convicted by a military court on August 11, 2011 for the October 10, 2009 attack on the GHQ. The court had awarded death sentence to Aqeel while his accomplice, former soldier Imran Siddique, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Three civilians were awarded life imprisonment while two were sentenced to seven years each in jail.
Ten terrorists – armed with automatic weapons and suicide vests – had forced their entry into the GHQ and taken army officials hostage. The terrorists had held their grounds till the next morning when army commandoes rescued the hostages. Eleven army soldiers were killed in the attack. Interestingly, all the attackers were killed in the army operation except for Aqeel, who had planned the attack.
Aqeel had joined a militant outfit, Harkatul Jihad Al Islami, in 1999 after completing his studies and went to Afghanistan twice for training. After the 9/11 attacks, he returned to Pakistan and joined the Army Medical Corps (AMC) as a nursing assistant. Four years later, he deserted the army and joined a militant group.
In his confessional statement, Aqeel had revealed that they had targeted Pakistan Army as it was an ally of the United States and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan leaders considered it a legitimate target. He is known for his involvement in a number of high-profile attacks, including those on Gen (retd) Musharraf.
Arshad Mehrban, on the other hand, was convicted for his involvement in the December 25, 2003 suicide attack on the then military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, at Jhanda Chichi, Rawalpindi. Fifteen people, including four policemen, were killed in the attack while Musharraf had escaped unhurt.
More death warrants
Two convicted members of the banned sectarian militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) will be hanged in the Sukkur Central Hail on December 23. According to prison sources, Attaullah, alias Qasim, and Mohammad Azam will be executed early in morning on December 23.
“The black (death) warrants of two LeJ activists Attaullah Qasim and Muhammad Azam have been issued by court for December 23,” said Shahid Hussain, superintendent of Sukkur Central Jail.
In all 95 prisoners in the Sukkur Central Jail are on the death row. Of them, petitions of 91 are at different stages, while mercy petitions of four have already been rejected by the president of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court has also been asked for the execution orders for two other convicts, Behram Khan and Shafqat Hussain, Kazi Nazir Ahmed SSP Karachi Central Jail told AFP.
Official sources in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa said a prisoner currently being kept in Haripur jail would also be executed in the next two days.
“Niaz Muhammad, who was among those convicted for the attack on former president Pervez Musharraf, will be executed in the next two days since prison officials held a meeting with him today (Friday),” one official said. He added that authorities had obtained the services of three executioners on an emergency basis and had begun repairing the gallows.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2014.
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