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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Review petition filed on behalf of 2 hanged prisoners

By Akhtar Amin
February 07, 2018

PESHAWAR: A review petition was filed in Peshawar High Court (PHC), challenging the decision wherein the court had declared that execution of a condemned prisoner cannot be stopped after issuance of death warrant and no compromise could be made at this belated stage.

Interestingly, a senior lawyer Muhammad Khurshid Khan filed the review petition on behalf of the two condemned prisoners who have already been hanged.

The lawyer made the two hanged prisoners, including Jehan Bahadar from Charsadda graveyard and Amanullah from Dera Ismail Khan graveyard as petitioners.

The lawyer challenged the high court decision for not suspending the death warrants to the petitioners and not waiting for final efforts for the compromise with the rival parties, which were reportedly going on.

The lawyer quoted a judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the petitions titled “PLD 1989 (SC)-633” in which the apex court had clearly declared that compromise could be made till last moment of hanging.

The lawyer requested the high court to review its decision as it was in conflict with the Supreme Court judgment.

The decision was made by a division bench comprising Justice Qalandar Ali Khan and Justice Muhammad Ayub Khan.

It was stated in the judgment that the petitioners Jan Bahadar and Amanullah had been awarded death sentences by the learned additional sessions judges and their sentences had been upheld up by the apex court.

Likewise, their review and mercy petitions had also been turned down. It said in the judgment that in both the petitions which sought restraining order of execution of the petitioners Jan Bahadar and Amanullah to be held on January 23 on the ground that efforts were being made for a compromise.

The judgment stated that the available record showed that earlier the petitioners had challenged the mode of execution of sentence i.e. hanging by the neck. It was dismissed by this court in a judgment issued on January 11. It said that the petitioners through the petitions in hand sought suspension of their execution on the plea that they be given time to approach elders of the locality for a compromise between the parties.