pkpatriotic
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2008
- Messages
- 2,317
- Reaction score
- 0
Elimination of death penalty likely
By Nasir Iqbal
Saturday, 04 Oct, 2008
Prisoners standing on the rooftop of Central Jail protest against the jail administration, Oct 4, 2008. (file photo)
ISLAMABAD: Inmates ******* on death row for the last many years may hear a good news soon as the government is actively involved in finalizing a summary seeking a final nod from the cabinet within this month to pardon or commute their death sentence into life term, Dawn learnt here Saturday.
The Law Ministry is doing a thorough research on the subject to come up with a final draft and fulfill governments promise of commuting death sentence into life term, sources privy to the development said adding the summary would be ready by second or third instant of this month.
Prisoners on tenterhooks are pinning hopes on the PPP led coalition government of taking a bold step by amending laws regarding death penalty and improving jail condition.
The Supreme Court is also seized with a similar petition instituted by 52 inmates on death row in different prisons pleading to pardon or commute their death sentence as allowed to a foreigner guilty of terrorism, obvious reference to Indian spy Kashmir Singh, the sentence of whom was commuted by the caretaker government to set him at liberty with royal pump and show despite the fact that he was allegedly involved in the deaths of hundreds of innocent Pakistanis.
They had sought a direction from the apex court for the immediate shifting of condemned prisoners on death cells to ordinary prisons besides expeditious adjudication of their cases to avoid delay. They had also prayed for the grant of benefit under Article 45 of the Constitution that empowers the president to pardon, reprieve, remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court against the convicts.
However lack of decision on part of the government on the issue is delaying decision from the apex court where a large number of appeals by such convicts are pending.
According to reports 62 countries in the world still maintain death penalty while 92 countries have abolished it completely whereas ten countries are retaining it, but only for crimes committed in exceptional circumstances like crimes committed in time of war. Thirty three countries though maintain laws permitting the use of the death penalty for ordinary crimes, have allowed the maximum punishment to fall into disuse for at least a decade.
Pakistan however on December 18, 2007 had voted against the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly.
In 1970's during the first government of the PPP under the premiership of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the source said, the life sentence was enhanced to 25 years from 14 years with an idea that the capital punishment would be abolished completely in years to come. But the Zia regime kept both the sentences of 25 years life sentence and the death penalty intact, he said.
Report suggests that 5,260 convicts alone in 30 jails of the Punjab live in 812 death rows. The death row cells are usually small rooms that measure 9x12 feet, have attached toilets and are cordoned off by walls that are approximately three feet high. Sometimes as many as 12 inmates have to crowd into one cell.
These inmates spent almost 22 hours each day inside cramped cell though they are allowed to stretch their legs an hour twice in the morning as well as in the evening, the source said.
In its 2008 report the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had mentioned that over 7,000 prisoners were on the death row in different jails of the country and the prisons housed 95,016 detainees as against an authorized capacity of 40,825. Across Pakistan, 67 per cent of the prisoners were awaiting trial.
Meanwhile the source said, Law Minister Farooq H Naek is expected next week to visit Rawalpindi Central Jail Adiyala especially the barracks housing women inmates to learn about the problems they are facing and to implement a host of jail reforms that include visitation rights by their family members.
The reforms envisages access to relatives through telephone, finding ways of reducing over crowding of jails, ensure water availability to improve hygiene conditions besides constructing more toilets inside prison.
By Nasir Iqbal
Saturday, 04 Oct, 2008
Prisoners standing on the rooftop of Central Jail protest against the jail administration, Oct 4, 2008. (file photo)
ISLAMABAD: Inmates ******* on death row for the last many years may hear a good news soon as the government is actively involved in finalizing a summary seeking a final nod from the cabinet within this month to pardon or commute their death sentence into life term, Dawn learnt here Saturday.
The Law Ministry is doing a thorough research on the subject to come up with a final draft and fulfill governments promise of commuting death sentence into life term, sources privy to the development said adding the summary would be ready by second or third instant of this month.
Prisoners on tenterhooks are pinning hopes on the PPP led coalition government of taking a bold step by amending laws regarding death penalty and improving jail condition.
The Supreme Court is also seized with a similar petition instituted by 52 inmates on death row in different prisons pleading to pardon or commute their death sentence as allowed to a foreigner guilty of terrorism, obvious reference to Indian spy Kashmir Singh, the sentence of whom was commuted by the caretaker government to set him at liberty with royal pump and show despite the fact that he was allegedly involved in the deaths of hundreds of innocent Pakistanis.
They had sought a direction from the apex court for the immediate shifting of condemned prisoners on death cells to ordinary prisons besides expeditious adjudication of their cases to avoid delay. They had also prayed for the grant of benefit under Article 45 of the Constitution that empowers the president to pardon, reprieve, remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court against the convicts.
However lack of decision on part of the government on the issue is delaying decision from the apex court where a large number of appeals by such convicts are pending.
According to reports 62 countries in the world still maintain death penalty while 92 countries have abolished it completely whereas ten countries are retaining it, but only for crimes committed in exceptional circumstances like crimes committed in time of war. Thirty three countries though maintain laws permitting the use of the death penalty for ordinary crimes, have allowed the maximum punishment to fall into disuse for at least a decade.
Pakistan however on December 18, 2007 had voted against the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly.
In 1970's during the first government of the PPP under the premiership of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the source said, the life sentence was enhanced to 25 years from 14 years with an idea that the capital punishment would be abolished completely in years to come. But the Zia regime kept both the sentences of 25 years life sentence and the death penalty intact, he said.
Report suggests that 5,260 convicts alone in 30 jails of the Punjab live in 812 death rows. The death row cells are usually small rooms that measure 9x12 feet, have attached toilets and are cordoned off by walls that are approximately three feet high. Sometimes as many as 12 inmates have to crowd into one cell.
These inmates spent almost 22 hours each day inside cramped cell though they are allowed to stretch their legs an hour twice in the morning as well as in the evening, the source said.
In its 2008 report the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had mentioned that over 7,000 prisoners were on the death row in different jails of the country and the prisons housed 95,016 detainees as against an authorized capacity of 40,825. Across Pakistan, 67 per cent of the prisoners were awaiting trial.
Meanwhile the source said, Law Minister Farooq H Naek is expected next week to visit Rawalpindi Central Jail Adiyala especially the barracks housing women inmates to learn about the problems they are facing and to implement a host of jail reforms that include visitation rights by their family members.
The reforms envisages access to relatives through telephone, finding ways of reducing over crowding of jails, ensure water availability to improve hygiene conditions besides constructing more toilets inside prison.
well if you did not read why Farooq H Naek is visiting Central Jail Adiyala next week then my dear just forget it that he is going to see the plight of women prisoners.
