JPP sticks to stance on Shafqat’s age

ISLAMABAD: Birth certificate of Shafqat Hussain, the condemned prisoner on death row, was issued four days after the case was first highlighted in media by Sarah Belal, the director of Justice Project Pakistan. Though the birth certificate issued on December 24 2014 has been declared fake, the JPP pleads its case saying only “documentary” evidence to determine age could be accepted and there is no other mode to determine one’s age.
Since December 20 2014, the moment Pakistan lifted moratorium on death penalty in wake of the Peshawar tragedy, a sustained campaign in media was launched to prove Shafqat a minor by NGOs. Later when Shafqat’s pictures at the time of arrest appeared on media and subsequently an alleged birth certificate of him was declared fake, the case of NGOs fell like a house of cards. The JPP, which otherwise helps many needy victims, will also have to rethink their take on Shafqat’s case.
Details reveal that Shafqat’s case was first highlighted by Sarah Belal in The News on December 20 2014 and interestingly four days after the article, the family of Shafqat obtained a birth certificate from Azad Kashmir claiming Shafqat to be a juvenile at the time of murder of a seven-years-old boy in Karachi in 2004.
Sarah Belal referred this correspondent to Shahab Siddiqui, the Communication Manager of JPP who explained the position of the JPP in detail. Shahab said that “Save Shafqat” was their trend much before Sarah Belal’s article. He added that one’s age cannot be determined though medical tests and according to Supreme Court’s recent judgement, one’s age has to be determined through documentary evidence and not guessing through appearance.
Siddiqui said that the only documentary evidence available in Shafqat’s case is his birth certificate which has been issued by a government department after fulfilling all the legal requirements. He mentioned that JPP also have identity cards of Shafqat’s family which also show that Shafqat was a juvenile in 2004. Moreover, JPP has also submitted identity card of one of Shafqat’s class fellows to the Interior Ministry which also can help determine Shafqat’s age, Siddiqui said.
Regarding the ongoing inquiry in the Federal Investigation Agency, the JPP maintains that it was apprised of the scope and constitution of the inquiry committee. Shahab Siddiqui said that one deputy director of FIA wrote a letter to JPP to appear before the committee on April 2 without explaining anything. He mentioned that the JPP has been requesting the Interior Ministry to inform it about the constitution and scope of the inquiry but it never told anything. He said that before April 2, the media aired news stories that FIA has completed its inquiry. “Then we said the FIA has already completed its inquiry without listening to the other side, so what is the advantage of going before the committee?” Siddiqui added. He said that the interior minister had said that it will be an open inquiry but it does not appear so. He maintained that a protest in this regard has already been lodged with the Interior Ministry.
Regarding the birth certificate being fake, Siddiqui replied that if the birth certificate was to be made a fake one then what was the reason of mentioning the date of December 2014 on it? The date of issuance reveals that the certificate was issued genuinely because birth certificates are obtained the way Shafqat’s was obtained. He reiterated that when it comes to age, it is only the documentary evidence on which the investigators and courts have to depend.
On the other hand, the jail and police record confirm that Shafqat, the killer, was 23 in 2004 and his latest photo obtained by the Interior Ministry shows him to be above 30 now. His 2004 picture, taken soon after his arrest, also negates the propaganda which forced the government to defer his execution for 30 days.