ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court yesterday postponed for almost a month the hanging of a murderer in what would have been the country’s first civilian execution in six years, lawyers said.
Shoaib Sarwar, who was convicted in 1998, was set to be hanged in Rawalpindi’s Adiyala jail tomorrow following orders issued by another court last week, despite outrage among rights groups.
History of hanging
Pakistan has had a de facto moratorium on civilian hangings since 2008.
Only one person has been executed since then, a soldier convicted by a court martial and hanged in November 2012.
“We are relieved to have managed to avert this impending injustice through a stay order,” said Maryam Haq, a lawyer from the nonprofit group Justice Project Pakistan. AFP
