PHC suspends execution of two militants

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday stayed the execution of two members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) till September 8.

They had been awarded death sentence by a military court for committing the heinous offences and acts of terrorism.A two-member bench suspended the sentence. Justice Syed Afsar Shah and Justice Muhammad Ishtiaq Ibrahim were on the bench.

A notice was issued to the federal government directing it to submit record of the cases on September 8, which is the next date for the hearing.The court suspended the death sentence of two convicts, Abdul Majeed and Israr Ahmad, residents of Charbagh area of Swat district after preliminary hearing of their judicial review petitions against the military courts’ decisions.

Liaqat, brother of the convict Abdul Majeed, and Noorul Huda, mother of Israr Ahmad, had filed the review petition against the military courts’ verdict.During the hearing, the petitioners’ lawyer Naeeem Faheem submitted that the security forces took the convicts into custody in 2014. Later, he said, they were shifted to an internment centre in Swat.

He pointed out that one of the convicts, Abdul Majeed, was 67 years old and was a local government councillor during General Pervez Musharraf’s rule.He submitted that their families came to know through the media on August 17 that they had been awarded death sentence by the military courts and the army chief had confirmed the sentence handed down to them.

The lawyer stated that in its detailed judgment the Supreme Court, which had upheld the creation of the military courts, had ruled that the judgments of the military courts were subject to judicial review on two grounds i.e. jurisdictional error and mala fide of the law.

It was stated in the petition that sentence to the convicts was handed down on mala fide intention as they had gone missing in 2014 and were not involved in any terrorist activity.The army-run Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Israr Ahmad, son of Abdul Rahim Jan, and Abdul Majeed, son of Khona Moula, were active members of the TTP.

It said they were involved in attacks on the armed forces, which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers.The ISPR said the two were involved in destruction of a girls primary school and a hotel of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation.

It said the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on August 16 confirmed the death sentences of 11 hardcore militants including these two convicts.However, out of the 11 convicts the sentences of three were suspended by the PHC. The court sought the record of the cases to examine whether the sentences were given under the special law or not.

A few days back, the PHC had also suspended the death sentence of a convict Fazle Rabbi, son of Fazal Ghafoor, who, the ISPR said, was involved in slaughtering and killing of civilians. The ISPR said he was also involved in attacking armed forces which resulted in death of Major Abid Majeed and injuries to several soldiers.

The ISPR said the convicts were also involved in killing of Deputy Inspector General of Police Fayyaz Sumbal and Assistant Sub-Inspector Raza Khan of Balochistan Police and Inspector Kamran Nazir of Inter-Services Intelligence in Quetta.