RAWALPINDI: Army chief General Raheel Sharif confirmed the death sentences of 12 hardcore terrorists, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.
According to the statement, the militants were tried by military courts and were found guilty of committing terrible crimes related to terrorism, killing of civilians, attacks on armed forces and the destruction of schools and communication infrastructure.
The army said all the men had admitted their offences before the magistrates and the trial court. 11 convicts belonged to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and one to the sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The convicts have the right of appeal to the president under the law, according to the legal experts.
However, the president, on the prime minister’s advice, has previously rejected all mercy petitions in terrorism-related cases as they have been responsible for the killing of the security men and civilians. It is the second time in three months that the army chief has confirmed death penalties to the militants. On May 12, General Sharif had confirmed the death sentences of five terrorists.
Besides Mohammad Yasin of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, all the convicted criminals (Mohammad Qayyum Bacha, Mohammad Asif, Shahadat Hussain, Mohammad Tayyab, Said Akbar, Mohammad Ayaz, Barkat Ali, Azizur Rehman, Hussan Dar Ishaq and Behram Sher) are members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban.
Previously, political parties unanimously agreed over setting up military courts to tackle terrorism cases in the country following the horrible attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014. To set up the said courts, the parliament passed the 21st constitutional amendment in Jan 2015.
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