Highly-influential terrorist makes govt surrender

ISLAMABAD: A highly influential convicted terrorist has made the federal government surrender its policy of executing convicted terrorists without discrimination.
In a case of discrimination and violation of law and policy, the Nawaz Sharif government has succumbed to pressure to block the execution of this highly influential convicted terrorist despite President Mamnoon Hussain’s final rejection of the condemned terrorist’s mercy appeal.
Documents available with The News reveal how the federal government retracted from its direction of executing the terrorist after the inmate successfully brought pressure on it.In an urgent message dated 31st Dec, 2014, the home secretary of the provincial government concerned was intimated that the president had rejected the mercy petition of the prisoner.
The home secretary was also told that the convicted terrorist should be imitated of the president’s decision.But just two days later on January 2, 2015, the interior ministry sent an “immediate” letter to the same secretary home secretary, directing the province to “stay” the execution of the terrorist till further orders.
The home secretary was also told that the provincial government should re-examine the case to ascertain if it fell within the parameters set by the government.Sources said the provincial government, within a few days time, informed the federal government that the case fell within the government’s policy.
Upon receiving this response from the provincial home department, the federal government finds itself in a difficult position, as under the policy it has to get the terrorist executed but it is unable to do so because the condemned prisoner appears more powerful than the state.
After December 17 government’s decision of withdrawing moratorium on death penalty in the case of convicted terrorists, a committee in the interior ministry was constituted to sift through various cases and forward only those to the PM Secretariat they felt fit the criterion.
As per the criterion, these fit cases were further vetted in the PM Secretariat and then forwarded to the Presidency for final rejection of mercy appeals.In the case of influential terrorist both the interior ministry as well as the PM Office found it a fit case for implementing the death penalty and thus endorsed it to the Presidency.
Consequently, the president rejected the final mercy plea of the terrorist.Under the law once the president has rejected the final mercy plea there can only be a maximum of 7 days in which the execution has to be carried out. Blocking the execution after the rejection of the final mercy appeal of terrorist is considered a violation of the law and in breach of the government’s announced policy of hanging all convicted terrorists.
Unlike the inequitable dealing of undertrial suspected terrorists as provided by the 21st Amendment, the government has repeatedly claimed that all convicted and condemned terrorists whether belonging to religious militant groups, Balochistan separatist organisations or ethnic terror groups in Karachi would be executed without any discrimination.
Prime Minister’s spokesman Dr Mussadiq Malik recently told The News that the moratorium on death penalty had been lifted for all terrorists and thus all condemned prisoners sentenced capital punishment in terrorism cases would be executed without discrimination.