SC adjourns Shafqat Hussain's appeal hearing till tomorrow

Superi­ntende­nt Karach­i jail confir­ms Hussai­n’s execut­ion was stayed­ for a fourth time

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of Shafqat Hussain's appeal against an Islamabad High Court (IHC) order which rejected his plea. A stay on his execution was ordered early on Tuesday morning.

The hearing was adjourned till June 10 after Hussain's counsel requested the bench some time to confirm whether his client's execution was halted.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Nasirul Mulk clarified the civilian court did not order a stay in Hussain's execution.

Early on Tuesday morning, death row convict Shafqat Hussain’s execution was postponed, Express News reported.

Superintendent Karachi Central Jail Kazi Nazeer Ahmed confirmed that Hussain’s execution has been stayed.

His execution was scheduled to be carried out at 4:30am on Tuesday at Karachi Central Jail. This is the fourth time that his execution was postponed.

Earlier, a three judge bench of the apex court, headed by the Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, said on Monday that it will be taking up the case at 9am.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Hussain's counsel Dr Tariq Hassan said he waited at the Supreme Court till 7pm in the evening, by which time no stay order had been issued to halt the execution.

The counsel said their plea had not been taken up during the day as the CJP was busy with the proceedings of the Judicial Commission probing allegations of rigging in the May 2013 general elections.

However, the counsel was hopeful that the SC might pass a stay order on execution later at Monday since the apex court had fixed a hearing for Tuesday.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on May 21 dismissed the petition calling for the formation of a judicial commission to determine the age of death-row convict Hussain, terming it unmaintainable.

“Nothing has been placed before this court which would indicate any miscarriage of justice or a need for a probe,” stated Justice Athar Minallah of the IHC.

“Conjectures, surmises, unsubstantiated assertions, assumptions without any cogent or material record, cannot vest jurisdiction in this court to exercise its powers under Article 199 of the Constitution,” he added.

Last-ditch efforts being made to save Shafqat from the gallows

In a last-ditch effort to save Shafqat Hussain from the gallows, the death-row convict's family and lawyers have appealed to President Mamnoon Hussain to pardon him, while arguing that there has never been a credible investigation into his age at the time of his conviction.

Hussain is scheduled to be hanged at 4:30am on Tuesday, at Karachi Central Jail. He was arrested in 2004, and convicted by an anti-terrorism court of kidnapping and killing a child. The charges were later reduced to involuntary manslaughter.

Read: ATC issues Shafqat Hussain's death warrants for June 9

Talking to The Express Tribune, Justice Project Pakistan (JPP)’s spokesperson said there has never been a credible investigation into Shafqat's age at the time of his conviction and there are many problems with the government's insistence that he was not a juvenile.

“We want the execution to be halted and a judicial commission to be formed to determine his age,” he added.

He argued that the FIA’s report which concluded that the convict was 23-years old at the time of offense, was based only on police and jail records.

“The affidavit, parents IDs and the school record which show that he was born in 1986, according to which he was a juvenile, have been overlooked,” he argued.

It is the fifth time in less than two years that a date has been set for the 24-year-old's execution, Hussain's lawyer Sarah Belal told NBC News.

"The last three times he has come within hours of death," she said. "So just think about what that does to both him and his family. It's harrowing. He can't eat or sleep. We have been in touch with his family and they are going through this ordeal as well."

Shafqat was scheduled to be hanged on January 5, 2015 after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the moratorium on the death penalty. However, the execution was halted by the interior minister following an outcry by various human rights groups.

A "black warrant" was issued to Hussain's legal representatives following an FIA report which claimed that Shafqat was not a juvenile at the time offence was committed.

Mercy petition

In a detailed 22-page mercy petition submitted to the President Mamnoon Hussain by Shafqat’s brother and JPP last week, lawyers requested the president to grant him permanent clemency or pardon from execution.

The petition claims that Shafqat suffers from a learning disability and was unable to tell his age or correct it when police and jail officials noted it down.

It further says that Shafqat continued to work at the apartment for 42 days after the incident, and was picked up by the police when they were unable to find the real culprits.

While claiming that his confession was coerced, the petition also alleges that the police acquired the confessional statement through torture by beating him and even burned him with cigarettes.

The petition further argues that Shafqat has already served 10 years of his sentence, therefore he should be granted mercy. It also argues that the FIA was not a competent body to conduct the investigation and have only relied on police and jail records.

EU delegation

A 5-member delegation of European Union (EU) called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and urged him to use his good office to stop the execution of Hussain.

The EU delegation comprised Consul General of France François Dall’orso, Consul General of Germany Dr Tilo Klinner, British Deputy High Commissioner John Tucknott, Acting Consul General of Italy Giulio Lazeolla and Consul General of Switzerland Emil Wyss.

The delegation praised the former PPP government for not implementing capital punishment during its entire tenure.

They urged the Sindh chief minister to play his role to stop the Hussain's execution, arguing that since his case does not fall in ambit of terrorism; therefore it might be treated separately.

The chief minister told the delegation that under the constitution the powers to stop execution of Shafqat Hussain or of any other condemned prisoner were with the federal government. "The execution is due tomorrow morning and there is barely any time to take up your (EU) concerns with the prime minister," he said.

The delegation requested the chief minister to take up their request with the prime minister on an urgent basis. "We would appreciate your efforts which are bound to build the Sindh government's goodwill," they said.

The chief minister assured the delegation that he would fax a letter to the prime minister.