Zainab's father approaches political heads against murderer’s mercy appeal

LAHORE: Muhammad Amin Ansari, the father of seven-year old Zainab who was sexually assaulted and murdered in Kasur earlier this year, has urged the heads of major political parties to request President Mamnoon Hussain to reject an appeal of his daughter’s murderer for clemency.

He wrote a letter to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Sirajul Haq and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri.

In his letter, the victim’s father stated the president has not rejected his daughter’s murderer’s appeal for clemency yet. He wrote a letter to the head of state seeking rejection of the same but to no avail, he added.

Mr. Ansari said convict Imran Ali’s felony is unpardonable and that he should be given an exemplary punishment in order to bring closure to such crimes.

He requested the top politicians to appeal to the president to reject the condemned prisoner’s plea for mercy at the earliest.

Last month, Zainab’s father approached the Lahore 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.

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

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.