Death row prisoner Shafqat seeks judicial inquiry to determine age

ISLAMABAD: Death row prisoner Shafqat Hussain has asked the Islamabad High Court for a judicial inquiry to determine his age at the time he was sentenced to death for kidnapping and murder.

Hearing the case on Friday, IHC judge Justice Athar Minallah issued notices to nine respondents, including President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and asked them to submit their replies within 15 days.

Shafqat was arrested and 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 to be handed the death sentence.

Shafqat's appeals were turned down by all trial courts and the Supreme Court, until President Mamnoon Hussain stayed his execution for 30 days on March 18 – a day before his scheduled execution.

The 30-day stay expires on Friday.

Now, the death row prisoner has approached the IHC, asking the high court to order a judicial inquiry to determine his age.

Lawyers representing Shafqat claim he was under 18 when he was sentenced in 2004, and legally not old enough to be given the death penalty.

The IHC has sent notices to the president, prime minister, and seven other respondents, giving them 15 days to submit their replies.

The case has received widespread attention from local and international media, and became a bone of contention between supporters and opponents of the death penalty, which was resumed in Pakistan in December last year to end a six-year long moratorium on capital punishment.