IHC delays Shafqat Hussain's execution by one day

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday delayed by one day the execution of death row convict Shafqat Hussain, who was scheduled to be hanged on May 6.

Justice Athar Minallah of the IHC read out the interim order.

Last month, an Anti-terrorism court had issued black warrants for Hussain's execution at 6:00AM on May 6 after an investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) dismissed claims that he was a minor at the time of arrest.

Hussain was sentenced in 2004 for the kidnapping and involuntary murder of a seven-year-old boy who lived in a Karachi apartment building where he worked as a security guard.

Confusion over Shafqat’s date of birth raised questions of whether he was a juvenile or of lawful age in 2004 when he was handed down the death sentence.

The FIA investigation confirmed that even in the jail records, Shafqat Hussain’s age was not 14 years at the time he was arrested, nor was he under the age of 18.