PHC stays execution of man convicted by military court

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday stayed the execution of an alleged terrorist who had been awarded death sentence by a military court on account of attacking the personnel of the law-enforcement agencies.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan suspended the death sentence of the alleged terrorist Nisar Ali.It issued a notice to the federal government to submit record of the case within a fortnight.

The court suspended the death sentence in a review petition filed by Liaqat Ali, brother of the convict, through his lawyers Sahibzada Asadullah and Muhammad Irfan.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a press release that the chief of army staff confirmed on November 23 the death sentence of 10 terrorists, including brother of the petitioner.It said the military courts had convicted the men of attacks on the security forces and destruction of educational institutions.

The ISPR said the terrorists were involved in killing innocent civilians, slaughtering of Captain Junaid Khan, Captain Najam Riaz Raja, Naik Shahid Rasul and Lance Naik Shakeel Ahmad.The communiqué added the convicts were members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Islam and were involved in creating unrest through subversive activities.

The ISPR said that Nisar Ali was a member of TTP and was involved in attacks on the personnel of the security forces and law-enforcers that caused the death of Sepoy Fazal Malik and injuries to several soldiers of the Frontier Constabulary and police.

“The convict was found possessing firearms. He confessed to his crime before the magistrate and the trial court. He was awarded death sentence,” the statement said. However, counsels for the petitioner, argued that the family members claimed that they had handed over Nisar Ali to the security forces in 2009. His family members said that Nasir Ali had been missing since then and they came to know about the death sentence through the media.