Islamabad : Pakistan on Wednesday hanged four Taliban militants involved in the country’s deadliest terror attack at an army-run school in Peshawar that killed over 150 people, mostly children, days after their appeals were rejected with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif saying they deserve “no mercy”.
The four militants — Maulvi Abdus Salam, Hazrat Ali, Mujeebur Rehman and Sabeel alias Yahya — were hanged in a civil jail in Kohat near Peshawar, the first executions in the Peshawar school massacre case, reports PTI.
A security official confirmed the execution of the four terrorists all of whom were members of the Toheedwal Jihad Group, a Taliban-affiliate. Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif signed death warrants of the four militants on Monday after their appeals were rejected by President Mamnoon Hussain last month. This was the first such sentence endorsed by the army chief after an order of the Supreme Court in August which gave legal cover to the establishment of military courts.
Hussain rejected their mercy petitions after Sharif advised him to do so saying the will of entire nation is that perpetrators of such heinous crimes deserve “no mercy”. Six militants involved in the brutal massacre of over 150 people, mostly school children, were sentenced to death in August while one was handed down life imprisonment by military courts. Of the seven convicted, six belonged to the Toheedwal Jihad Group (TWJ) while one was an an active member of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The executions come as the country prepares to observe the first anniversary of the attack on December 16. The attack by Taliban gunmen on the army-run school in Peshawar is considered to be the country’s deadliest extremist attack. Pakistan lifted moratorium on the penalties in the country after the attack. Political parties had unanimously agreed over the issue of setting up military courts to tackle terrorism cases in the country following the gruesome Peshawar attack after which the Parliament passed the 21st constitutional amendment in January to set up the said courts. So far about 300 convicts have been hanged in the country, upsetting local and international human rights groups.
