Lahore High Court Dismisses Plea For Public Hanging Of Zainab's Killer

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking directions for public hanging of Zainab's killer.

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Oct, 2018 ) :The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking directions for public hanging of Zainab's killer.

The bench headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan heard the civil miscellaneous application filed by Zainab's father, Amin Ansari.

During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel argued that the anti-terrorism court concerned had issued black warrants for the execution of the condemned prisoner, Imran Ali, in the Zainab murder case, after dismissal of his appeals and mercy petition by the president, and directed the jail authorities for hanging Imran Ali on Oct 17.

He submitted that under Section 22 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, the public executions were possible. He requested the court to order the government to ensure that the convict was hanged publicly to satisfy the requirement of deterrence in society.

However, a provincial law officer, on behalf of the home secretary Punjab, submitted a reply in the matter. He submitted that as per Supreme Court judgement, public executions were against the norms of human dignity. He further argued that public executions were not possible under prevalent laws.

He said that public executions were carried out in Saudi Arabia and Iran but despite that crime rate did not decline in those countries.

The bench, after hearing detailed arguments of the parties, dismissed the plea.

Imran Ali was sentenced to death in February 2018 on charges of kidnapping, raping and killing minor Zainab in January 2018 within the jurisdiction of the A-division police station, Kasur.