Lahori hanged in Lahore

LAHORE: Ikramul Haq alias Lahori, an activist of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) whose execution was suspended earlier on January 8, was hanged at the Kot Lakhpat Central Jail on Saturday.
The execution of Lahori previously scheduled for January 8 had been delayed at the eleventh hour after an agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant was produced before a magistrate.
Later, the condemned prisoner and the plaintiff were asked to approach the anti-terrorism court (ATC) for confirmation. But only two brothers and a sister of the deceased Nayyer Abbas, out of his eight family members, appeared before the judge, hence the court refused to accept the compromise and upheld its decision of a death sentence.
Earlier in 2004, the ATC in Faisalabad had awarded a death sentence to Lahori in connection with the killing of Nayyar, who was a guard of Altaf Shah of the outlawed Sipah-e-Muhammad, at an imambargah in Shorkot, Jhang, in 2001.
President Mamnoon Hussain had turned down Lahori’s mercy appeal while the ATC had issued death warrants for him on January 6.
The Faisalabad ATC had also reissued black warrants for his execution; however, the defence counsel had challenged the warrants before the Lahore High Court which dismissed the petition.
Strict security measures were in place in and around the Kot Lakhpat jail. A heavy contingent of police besides army and Rangers personnel were deployed in and outside the premises.
Official sources said Lahori was hanged at 6:00am. His family members held a last meeting with him on Wednesday. After carrying out the execution, the authorities handed over the body to his brother.
Twenty convicts have been hanged since the lifting of a moratorium on the death penalty by the government on Dec 17, 2014, a day after the Peshawar school carnage.