Govt likely to constitute medical board to determine Shafqat's age

The interior ministry has formed an inquiry committee, with an announcement of the medical board expected next week

ISLAMABAD: Days after the government had halted the execution of Shafqat Hussain after evidence emerged that suggested that he may have been a juvenile when sentenced to death, the government has indicated it may form a medical board to determine his exact age.

Shafqat, who was due to be hanged on the morning of March 19, was given a reprieve just hours before the marked time after a campaign by his lawyers and members of the civil society who pointed out the possibility of a mistrial.

An interior ministry official told The Express Tribune on Saturday that an inquiry committee has been formed which will prepare ground for a subsequent medical board to determine Shafqat's age.

"A medical board will likely to probe Shafgat's age."

The execution was stayed after the interior minister wrote to the President, requesting him to put off the hanging temporarily for a possible review of his age, after due consultation with law experts.

An announcement in this regard will likely to be made next week, the official concluded.

Shafqat was reportedly only 14-years old when he allegedly murdered a child in 2001. He had been sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court in 2004. Mercy appeals for Shafqat were rejected by the high court in 2006, and the Supreme Court in 2007 while the then President, Asif Ali Zardari, had also rejected his mercy petition in 2012.

The question regarding Shafqat being a juvenile had recently been raised, but only after the court proceedings and his mercy appeals were rejected by the presidency and various courts and his black warrants issued.