Child killer to be hanged 'finally' in Pakistan

Islamabad, July 27: A Pakistani court on Monday issued a fresh death sentence order for a convicted child killer whose execution has been postponed four times in the past.

The anti-terrorism court has finally ordered that he be executed on August 4.

Shafqat Hussain was arrested and sentenced to death in 2004 for the kidnapping and murder of a seven-year-old boy. He appealed to an anti-terrorism court stating that he was a minor at the time of the murder, Dawn online reported.

The first execution date announced was January 14, which was delayed to March 19 due to protests over his age. Civil society representatives protested the March 19 execution, forcing the execution date to be moved to May 6. It was again moved to June 9.

Jail authorities had approached the court through an application before the holy month of Ramadan for the issuance of fresh warrant for Hussain's execution.

A court official earlier said the application could not be taken up since a moratorium was imposed on executions during Ramadan, adding that the court was likely to issue a fresh warrant on Saturday.

IANS