Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday stayed execution of five convicted terrorist whose death warrants had been signed by army chief General Raheel Sharif.
According to correspondent, the convicts – Ehsan Azeem, Asif Idrees, Umar Nadeem, Kamran Aslam, and Amir Yousuf – had been handed down death penalty by a military court.
Today, Rawalpindi bench judge, Justice Arshad Mehmood Tabasum, heard a petition filed by the convicts whose lawyer Laiq Khan Sawati argued that it could not be determined on what charges the five have been awarded death penalty.
The said neither the accused were given a right to hire a counsel for their defence nor were they provided with copy of the court ruling.
After hearing the arguments, the judge issued notices to both the parties and stayed executions of prisoners who are on the death row in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.
Three of the terrorist – Ehsan Azeem, Umar Nadeem and Kamran Aslam – were involved in attack on Gujrat military camp.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt and his legal team to actively pursue terrorism cases and take steps to end stay against executions.
Reports said three prisoners in Sukkur and Bahawalpur jails are facing the noose. Arrangements have been finalized for their execution.
On Sunday, authorities executed four more militants as the government has ended a six-year moratorium on capital punishment for terror-related cases following Taliban attack on Peshawar school that killed 149 people.
Two other convicts were hanged on Friday in Pervez Mushrraf attack case.
