The newly established military courts in Pakistan on Thursday sentenced to death six militants while sending another to life imprisonment on terrorism charges, the first such convictions since the courts were set up after the deadly Taliban school massacre in December.
The newly established military courts in Pakistan on Thursday sentenced to death six militants while sending another to life imprisonment on terrorism charges, the first such convictions since the courts were set up after the deadly Taliban school massacre in December.
Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif confirmed the death sentence given to six terrorists, military spokesperson said. Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa said that seven men accused of heinous crimes of terrorism, manslaughter, causing colossal damage to life and property, suicide bombing and abduction for ransom were tried by the military courts.
The courts awarded death sentence to six and life imprisonment to one militant. These sentences of death were confirmed by General Sharif. The convicts have the right to file an appeal before the court of appeals against the ruling.
Those awarded death sentence include Noor Saeed, Haider Ali, Murad Khan, Inayatullah, Israr uddin and Qari Zahir, while Abbas has been sentenced life imprisonment. The military courts were set up as part of national action plan to eliminate militancy from the country in the aftermath of deadly Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar that killed over 150 people, mostly students.
The military courts are expected to deliver speedy justice as terrorism cases linger for years in ordinary courts, as the judges are reluctant to conclude the trials or convict the militants due to fear of backlash. Pakistan has already hanged 66 prisoners since lifting moratorium on the death penalty after the Taliban attack.
There are more than 8,000 death row prisoners in the country. The United Nations, the European Union, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have urged Pakistan government to reimpose the moratorium on the death penalty.
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