Punishable offences: Top court rejects plea against death penalties

As per Sharia law, death penalty can be awarded for three crimes only – murder, rape and apostasy, petitioner...

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea challenging the number of crimes punishable by the capital punishment in Pakistan.

In Pakistan besides murder, there are 27 offences which carry capital punishment, but as per Sharia law the death penalty can be awarded for three crimes only – murder, rape and apostasy, the petitioner contended.

A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, on Monday took up the four-year-old petition, filed by Barrister Zafarullah, a representative of the Watan Party. The bench, however, asked the petitioner that if he considers the death penalty laws in the country un-Islamic, he should approach the Federal Shariat Court.

Zafarullah also claimed that the award of the death penalty is against Article 9 of the Constitution.

The petitioner while talking to The Express Tribune said he will file an appeal against the top court’s order to dismiss his plea. He pointed out that he had filed the petition four years ago, when the moratorium on the death penalty was in place.

While it was initially decided that only condemned terrorists will be executed, the government later gave the nod to go ahead with execution of all death sentences where appeals and clemency pleas were no longer an option.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2015.