Death row prisoner: Top court to take up Saulat Mirza’s plea today

Petition was filed under Article 187 of the Constitution

ISLAMABAD:

The apex court will take up Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activist Saulat Mirza’s appeal against his death sentence on Tuesday (today) which is scheduled on March 19.

On Monday, Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk heard Mirza’s plea against the objections of the Supreme Court (SC) registrar in his chamber. However, Mirza’s lawyer Latif Khosa failed to appear before the judge, while his Advocate on Record Chaudhry Akhtar requested the CJ to adjourn the hearing.

The chief justice while accepting the plea adjourned the case till Tuesday (today). He, however, made it clear that this would be the last opportunity for the counsel to appear before the court, otherwise, the court will dispose of it.

Following the dismissal of a review petition, the MQM activist filed a petition under Article 187 of the Constitution to revisit its judgment, wherein award of death penalty is maintained. The applicant stated that he has been in prison since 1998, therefore, he should be released.

The anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi had issued the death warrants for Mirza for March 19. However, he was sentenced to death by an ATC in May 1999 for murdering Shahid Hamid, the managing director of the then Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), his driver Ashraf Brohi and guard Khan Akbar in July 1997.

“It is prayed that the record of HRC No12/1997 which consist statements of Mst. Shahnaz Shahid, widow of the deceased Shahid Hamid and their son Umair Shahid, recorded by the chief justice of Pakistan and proceedings relating to the very murder in question having direct bearing and essential and expedient for the just decision of the case be summoned, perused and appeal decided in the light thereof to ensure complete justice,” the counsel for Mirza submitted in the plea.

The occurrence in this case took place on July 5, 1997, while Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 was promulgated on August 20, 1997. How could the petitioner be convicted u/s 7(i) (a) of the ATA, 1997, read with 302 PPC, says the petition.

The SC had already dismissed a review appeal on March 9, 2014 whereas the Sindh High Court had dismissed appeals on January 21, 2000 and September 14, 2001, respectively. A mercy appeal was sent to the then president of Pakistan, which was also rejected. Another appeal was filed with President Mamnoon Hussain that also turned down on January 1, 2015.

Earlier, Mirza was set to be hanged on January 7, 2015, but the federal government had halted his execution till further orders.

Latif Khosa is to appear before the court on Tuesday on the direction of the top brass of his Pakistan Peoples Party.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2015.