Pak court dismisses petition seeking public hanging of serial killer

A serial killer will be executed inside a jail on Wednesday after a Pakistani court on Tuesday dismissed a petition for his public hanging filed by the father of a seven-year-old girl, who was raped and murdered by the convict.

A two-member Lahore High Court bench comprising Justice Sardar Shamim Ahmed and Justice Shahbaz Rizvi dismissed the plea of Amin Ansari, father of the minor girl, seeking public hanging of convict Imran Ali.

In January last, police arrested Imran two weeks after he raped and killed the minor girl and threw her body into a garbage dump in the city of Kasur, some 50-km from Lahore.

The incident triggered nation-wide street protests in Pakistan with people demanding a harsh punishment for the 23-year-old accused. Violent protests in Kasur city following her murder claimed two lives.

An anti-terrorism court here last week ruled that Imran's death sentence will be carried out on October 17 at Lahore's Central Jail.

"You are required to hang Imran Ali, 23, by neck until he be dead at central jail, Lahore on October 17 and to return this warrant to this court with and endorsement certifying that sentence has been executed," read the ATC Lahore Judge Sajjad Ahmed.

Imran, a resident of Kasur, was accused of being involved in at least nine incidents of rape-cum-murder of minors. The court has given its verdict in five cases.

Dismissing Ansari's plea to hang Imran in full view of public, Justice Shamim asked the petitioner's lawyers "you should have filed the application to the government. We are not the government. You have come here so late. The date of the hanging has been fixed for tomorrow."