LHC seeks arguments on plea for public hanging of Zainab's murderer

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday directed a state counsel to forward his arguments on a petition seeking public execution of Imran Ali condemned to death over his involvement in rape-cum-murder of Kasur’s little Zainab. 

Zainab’s father Muhammad Amin has gone to the high court, requesting it to issue directives for public hanging of the convict whose death sentence has been confirmed by the LHC and Supreme Court.

A bench of the LHC directed a provincial law officer to come up with his arguments, explaining the legal aspect of public executions on next hearing.

On June 12, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa rejected the appeal of convict Imran Ali against the death sentence.

The bench, which also comprised Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik and Mansoor Ali Shah, turned down the convict’s appeal, upholding the death penalty awarded to him by an anti-terrorism court.

The ATC had handed Imran four counts of the death penalty, one life term, a 7-year jail term and Rs4.1 million in fines.

Zainab case convict Imran also faces charges in the cases of at least seven other children he attacked, five of whom were murdered in a spate of assaults.

Imran has confessed to all eight attacks, including the death of Zainab Amin.

He had appealed to the Lahore High Court against the sentence but his appeal was dismissed.

Zainab’s rape and murder had sparked outrage and protests across the country after the six-year-old, who went missing on January 4, was found dead in a trash heap in Kasur on Jan 9.

The heinous crime had seen immediate riots break out in Kasur, in which two people were killed.

The government of Punjab on January 23 had announced the arrest of prime suspect Imran Ali.