Pakistan executes 4 more
Four Pakistani terror convicts on death row were executed at a jail in Faisalabad yesterday, after the government ended a moratorium on the death penalty earlier this week.
The executed convicts - Zubair Ahmed, Rasheed Qureshi, Ghulam Sarwar Bhatti and Akhlaque Ahmed - had been found guilty in a case related to an attack on former President Pervez Musharraf, reports NDTV.
QAEDA 'BURSTING WITH PAIN' |
In a statement, the regional al-Qaeda yesterday expressed grief at the killings and urged fellow militants to target only security forces. "Our hearts are bursting with pain and grief over this incident," said Osama Mehmood, spokesman for al-Qaeda's South Asia chapter. The school massacre has been condemned even by the Afghan Taliban, who are loosely affiliated with the Taliban in Pakistan. |
The executions were carried out in a district jail in Faisalabad after strict security measures were put in place.
The government ended the six-year ban on capital punishment for terror-related cases following a brutal terror attack on a school in Peshawar on Tuesday that killed 149 people, mostly children.
On Friday, two convicted terrorists - Aqil alias Doctor Usman and Arshad Mehmood - had been executed at the Faisalabad jail in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Aqil, who uses the name Doctor Usman, was convicted for an attack on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi in 2009. Arshad Mehmood was convicted for his involvement in a 2003 assassination attempt on former president General Pervez Musharraf.
On Thursday, Pakistan's military chief signed death warrants for six terrorists on death row after the government ended the death penalty moratorium on Wednesday.
Pakistan's decision to relinquish a ban on the death penalty in terror-related cases came as the country's political and military leaders vowed to wipe out the homegrown Islamist insurgency following the attack on the army school.
Meanwhile, at least 24 suspected militants were killed in air strikes on their positions in the stronghold of the banned Lashkar-i-Islam in Khyber Agency's Tirah valley on Saturday while raids by security personnel near Peshawar claimed seven lives.
According to some officials, a facilitator of the recent school attack and a brother of the mastermind lost their lives in the raids, reports Dawn.
The violence came as thousands of Pakistanis flocked to the Peshawar school yesterday to mourn the 149 people -- mainly children -- massacred by the Taliban and demand action against militants.
Pakistan has described Tuesday's bloody rampage as its own "mini 9/11", calling it a game-changer in the fight against extremism.
Mourners placed flowers, bouquets, placards and lighted candles in front of photos of murdered students.
The city's Christian community will cancel Christmas celebrations and will just hold a service on December 25, said the Rev Patrick John of All Saints Church.
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