IHC delays Shafqat Hussain’s execution for two more days

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday delayed implementation of Shafqat Hussain’s execution for two more days. Hussain was scheduled to be hanged on May 6.

IHC Judge Athar Minallah heard Shafqat Hussain’s petition remarking that all court decisions in this case were final. He added the formation of a committee to determine Shafqat Hussain’s age by the government was illegal.

On Tuesday, the IHC had delayed by one day the execution of death row convict Shafqat Hussain.

Last month, an Anti-terrorism court had issued black warrants for Hussain's execution at 6:00AM on May 6 after an investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) dismissed claims that he was a minor at the time of arrest.

Hussain was sentenced in 2004 for the kidnapping and involuntary murder of a seven-year-old boy who lived in a Karachi apartment building where he worked as a security guard.

Confusion over Shafqat’s date of birth raised questions of whether he was a juvenile or of lawful age in 2004 when he was handed down the death sentence.

The FIA investigation confirmed that even in the jail records, Shafqat Hussain’s age was not 14 years at the time he was arrested, nor was he under the age of 18.