Central jail seeks death warrants of two convicts

Karachi
The central prison authorities moved an application in an anti-terrorism court on Saturday asking it to fix the date of executions of two death row prisoners, Muhamamd Faisal and Muhammad Afzal.
The two men were awarded the capital punishment by an anti-terrorism court for killing people while committing a robbery in 1998.
The prison authorities have requested the court to issue black warrants against the two convicts whose mercy petitions have been rejected by the president.
A day earlier, President Mamnoon Hussain had rejected appeals for clemency of six death row prisoners in Sindh.
The appeals of these six convicts were earlier dismissed by the Sindh High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Following the decision, the home department had ordered the IG Prisons to take measures to execute the convicts. The prisoners whose pleas have been rejected include Muhammad Faisal, Muhammad Afzal, Achar alias Bhai Khan, Abdul Aziz, Bashir Ahmed, and Munwar Ali.
The home department had informed the Sindh High Court that the government was planning to execute the death sentences in four phases. The convicts associated with sectarian outfits would be the first to go to the gallows, followed by militants in the second phase and those not associated with any outfits in the third phase. In the fourth phase, prisoners affiliated with religious and political groups will be hanged.