Italian police handover key APS suspect to Pakistan

Official says Usman Ghani was arrested from Italy and brought back to Islamabad with the help of Interpol

Italian police have handed over a key suspect involved in the attack on Army Public School in Peshawar in December last year to Pakistan.

The suspect identified as Usman Ghani, belonging to Swabi, was escorted to Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) early on Thursday, an official told The Express Tribune.



The official said that after the attack the name of the suspect was put on Exit Control List; however, he managed to escape to Italy and was brought back to Pakistan through Interpol on Thursday.


The suspect has been shifted to an undisclosed location where he is being interrogated.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan gunmen stormed into Army Public School in Peshawar killing over 140 people, mostly students on December 16, 2014.



Following the attack, Pakistan lifted a moratorium on death penalty which began in March 2008, since then, Pakistan has hanged about 252 convicts.

Initially, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the moratorium only on executions linked to terrorism offences, meaning around 50 prisoners convicted of these offences were once again facing execution.

On March 10, the moratorium was, however, lifted entirely, meaning that around 8,500 people sentenced to death would face the gallows.



Further, lawmakers have stated that they plan to execute several more inmates on death row, despite international concerns over the use of torture to extract forced ‘confessions’.