Four Pakistani death row convicts acquitted

The Lahore High Court (LHC) Monday acquitted four death row convicts who were awarded the sentence for their involvement in a 2002 Rawalpindi suicide attack in which 19 people were killed.

The four convicts -- Fazal Mohammad, Tahir Mehmood, Hafiz Naseer and Habibullah -- were sentenced to death by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi in 2004 for their involvement in the attack, Dawn reported.

Following the death sentence, the convicts had filed an intro-court appeal.

The defendants' counsel pleaded in court that there was no solid evidence which showed that the convicts were responsible for or linked to the attack. After hearing the counsel's arguments, the court acquitted the convicts.

On Sunday, death warrants were issued against eight convicts, including an Al Qaeda member and four other militants. The hangings are scheduled for Jan 7, 13, 15 and 15.

In December 2014, the Pakistan government ended its moratorium on the death penalty in terror-related cases, following a terrorist attack on an army run Peshawar school in the same month in which 150 people, including 140 school children and teachers, were killed.

Seven convicts have been hanged so far in Pakistan after the death penalty moratorium was lifted by the Nawaz Sharif government.