24 April 2024 :

A court in Pakistan has sentenced a 22-year-old student to death on charges of blasphemy over Whatsapp messages, BBC reported on April 8, 2024.
The court in Punjab Province said he had shared blasphemous pictures and videos with the intention to outrage the religious feelings of Muslims.
A 17-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment as part of the same case. Both have denied wrongdoing.
Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan. Some people have been lynched even before their cases go on trial.
The complaint was filed in 2022 by the cybercrime unit of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore, the capital of Punjab.
The case was referred to a local court in the city of Gujranwala.
In the ruling this week, the judges said the 22-year-old was sentenced to death for preparing photos and videos which contained derogatory words about Prophet Muhammad and his wives.
The younger defendant was given a life sentence for sharing the material.
The plaintiff had alleged he had received the videos and photos from three different mobile phone numbers.
The FIA said that it had examined the plaintiff's phone and established that "obscene material" had been sent to him.
Defence lawyers argued that the two students had been "trapped in a false case".
The father of the death-row convict, whose identity has not been disclosed, told the BBC that he was filing an appeal in the Lahore High Court.
The other student was sentenced to life imprisonment instead of the death penalty because he is a minor, the court said.

23 January 2024 :

Additional District and Sessions Judge (ASJ) Muhammad Tahir Aslam awarded death penalty and imposed Rs100,000 on a drug dealer in Muzaffargarh on January 15, 2024.
According to the prosecution, Qureshi police arrested a notorious drug dealer Sher Zaman on June 7, 2022, when he was trying to smuggle drugs from Loralai to Punjab.
The police had recovered over 46 kilograms of Hashish from his possession and registered a case against him.
District Police Officer (DPO) Syed Husnain Haider lauded the police team for completing the investigation and prosecution without delay.

11 April 2024 :

A Bajaur court on April 5, 2024 convicted a man of killing his uncle and awarded him death sentence and a fine of Rs1 million.
District and seasons judge Mohammad Amir pronounced the verdict on completion of the yearlong hearing of the case.
Hamidullah, a resident of Sikandro area of Utmankhel tehsil, had killed his uncle, Noor Raheem over a family dispute.
The judge announced the maximum punishment under section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code.
According to the judgment, the fine amount would be given to the deceased’s legal heirs.
Meanwhile, the family of the convict and his lawyer expressed disappointment over the verdict, and announced to challenge it in the Peshawar High Court’s Swat Bench.

25 March 2024 :

Two Pakistani women have been sentenced to death for murdering their madrassa teacher who they accused of committing blasphemy, police said on March 20, 2024.
Police said the "three female students allegedly slaughtered their local female cleric over blasphemy allegations" in northwestern Dera Ismail Khan city in March 2022.
A district judge "handed down the death penalty to two local madrasa students and a life sentence to one upon proving their involvement in the murder," local police official Muhammad Haris told AFP.
The pair sentenced to death are aged 23 and 24 whilst the one sentenced to life in jail is 16, he said.

12 March 2024 :

15 February 2024 :

Three murder convicts were awarded death sentence in three different murder cases in Wah and Attock on February 2, 2024, a police spokesman said.
In the first incident, a murder convict was sentenced to death and a fine amounting to Rs200,000 was imposed on him for abducting and killing his friend within the limits of Wah Cantonment police station on September 13, 2022.
As per the FIR registered with Wah Cantonment police station, the accused, Tipu Meer, allegedly abducted his 25-year-old friend, identified as Hina Akbar, killed her, chopped her body and dumped them at various locations in the district.
Police traced the suspect through mobile phone data and arrested him
During interrogation, Tipu Meer confessed that the girl was blackmailing him to marry her or face consequences, so he had no choice but to get rid of her in a way that nobody could find any clue about her death.
Later, the prosecution produced substantial evidence against Mr Meer, which verified his involvement in the murder of Ms Akbar.
Subsequently, Mr Meer was sentenced to death.
Separately, Additional Session Judge Qammaruz Zaman in Pindigheb town of Attock on February 2 awarded the death penalty to a convict for murdering a married woman over a domestic feud with the premises of the Pindigheb police station on November 4, 2022.
Besides, a fine amounting to Rs400,000 was also imposed on the convict.
As per the FIR registered at Pindigheb police station, the accused, Iftikhar Ahmed, had shot dead the wife of Mohammad Ashraf in the Akhlas area. The suspect was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) by the court after he went underground.
Later, the police raided his hideout and arrested the suspect, and during the trial, the prosecution proved Mr Ahmed’s involvement in the murder of the woman.
The suspect was then sent to the gallows.
Moreover, Additional Session Judge Attock Mohammad Zaffar Iqbal sentenced a convict to death for killing a woman in the Sarwala area of the city police area in 2017. The convict was also ordered to pay Rs500,000 as a fine.
As per the FIR registered, the accused, Khalid Nawaz, had shot dead his sister-in-law for honor and went underground. He was declared a PO by the court, but later, in 2023, police arrested the accused and recovered the weapon utilized in the murder case.
The prosecution produced substantial evidence against Mr Nawaz, which confirmed his involvement in the murder of the woman. Following this, the murder convict was awarded death sentence.

20 February 2024 :

Pakistan’s Senate on February 19, 2024 rejected a bill proposing public execution for rape convicts, with lawmakers deeming it ineffective in deterring sexual crimes.
The upper house of parliament dismissed the amendment to the Pakistan Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure through the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023 with a vote of 24 against and 14 in favor.
Introduced by Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, the bill found support from Senators Mehr Taj Roghani, Kamran Murtaza, Maulana Faiz Muhammad, Hafiz Abdul Kareem, Kamal Ali Agha, Abdul Qadir, and others.
However, those opposing the bill called for improved prosecution and investigation to combat sexual crimes, stressing the need for a better prison environment to prevent such offenses in the future.
Defending his proposal, Mushtaq argued that public executions would deter brutality, though critics argued otherwise.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Faiz Muhammad supported Mushtaq’s stance, advocating for the public hanging of perpetrators of heinous crimes.
However, Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman strongly opposed the bill, citing its ineffectiveness in deterring sexual crimes and emphasizing the importance of enhancing prosecutions and investigations.
During the Senate session, Rehman stated, “The Peoples Party has always held a principled stance against the death penalty, whether public or private.” She emphasized that while the PPP condemns rape as a heinous crime, the implementation of the death penalty or public executions, as observed in other countries, has not proven effective in preventing sexual crimes. Rehman stressed the need to prioritize enhanced prosecutions and investigations instead of resorting to barbaric methods.
Referring to historical attempts at public executions during Ziaul Haq’s era, Rehman highlighted their failure in reducing crime. She warned against advocating for public hanging for one crime, as it may lead to demands for similar measures for other offenses. The PPP, she reiterated, emphasizes addressing societal anger towards violence and sexual crimes through comprehensive measures, including increased funding for the police, improved criminal investigations, and better training for officers handling rape cases.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Senator Sadia Abbasi also opposed the bill, expressing concerns that it would exacerbate societal violence. Abbasi cited historical incidents of public floggings in the country and the subsequent negative reactions both domestically and internationally.
Similarly, PML-N’s Senator Ishaq Dar supported the opposition to the bill, noting the existence of the death penalty in law. He deemed the bill “inappropriate” and stressed that criminals should not be subjected to public executions.

15 January 2024 :

The Pakistan Supreme Court on January 10, 2024 upheld late former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf's death penalty awarded to him in 2019 in connection with a high treason case, Geo TV reported.
A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah said the Lahore High Court's January 13, 2020 order, which struck down Musharraf's death sentence, had been ineffective for non-compliance.
On December 17, 2019, a special court pronounced the death penalty on the late military general after a case of high treason was lodged against him by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) for his "unconstitutional" decision to impose a state of emergency in 2007, according to Geo TV.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court observed that Musharraf's family did not follow the case even after multiple notices were sent to them.
Salman Safdar, Musharraf's counsel, said he attempted to contact the former president's family after the court decided to hear the appeal but did not get any response from them.
On February 5 last year, Musharraf, 79, died due to a prolonged illness in Dubai, where he was in self-exile.
Born in Delhi on August 11, 1943, Musharraf and his family shifted to the newly-formed state of Pakistan after the Partition in 1947. After climbing up the ranks over the years, he was promoted to four-star general by then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 1998.
After the loss of the Kargil War to India in 1999, there was a power struggle between Musharraf and Sharif. Following that, Musharraf took control of Pakistan in a military coup and became the president in 2001.
Musharraf's rule faced challenges, including legal proceedings against him for alleged involvement in high-profile assassinations and for implementing an emergency and suspending the Constitution in 2007.
He resigned in 2008 to avoid impeachment and lived in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai.