Shafqat to be hanged on August 4

Karachi
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) issued a fresh black warrant for Shafqat Hussain for August 4.
Over confusion about this age, the federal government had earlier withdrawn several death warrants against Hussain, who was sentenced to death in 2004 for killing a minor boy.
However, the Federal Investigation Agency concluded after an inquiry that Hussain was an adult, not a juvenile himself, when he abducted and killed a seven-year-old boy in 2001. The boy lived in an apartment where Hussain worked as a security guard.
ATC-III issued the fresh warrant on Monday to hang him at 4am on August 4 after the jail authorities moved an application seeking a new death warrant.
The convict’s appeals were dismissed by the higher courts and his mercy petition was also turned down by the president of Pakistan.
The court ordered Hussain’s hanging till death after the fulfillment of all due legal requirements under the supervision of a judicial magistrate. It told the authorities to submit a report after the execution of the convict.
Confusion over Hussain’s date of birth raised questions of whether he was a minor or an adult in 2004 when he was handed down the capital punishment. His lawyer representing a human rights organisation did his best to get the execution halted. The counsel was also supported by many human rights activists, due to which the hanging was put on hold and an inquiry was ordered by the federal government to ascertain whether the convict was a juvenile when he committed the offence.