An anti-terrorism court awarded the death penalty to a Lashkar-e-Jhangvi member Ishaq alias Bobby on three counts of murder in a case pertaining to sectarian killing,The LeJ member is a high-profile convict on death row for multiple crimes including the murder of renowned Qawwal Amjad Sabri. This is the third capital punishment among others awarded to him in a month.
The ATC has found him guilty of killing Syed Zakir Hussain, Muhammad Nawaz, and Muhammad Younus in firing at Dargah Nazar Ali Shah in Korangi on August 23, 2014.The prosecution said Ishaq and his accomplice shot at victims and fled the scene. He was on the run until November 2016 when police detained him.
Apart from the death penalty, the ATC also slapped a fine of Rs50,000 and a 10-year imprisonment sentence. The judge also ordered the convict to pay a compensation of Rs200,000 to the legal heirs of each victim, otherwise suffer additional imprisonment of six months.
The judge observed that the offence was a total disregard for human life without any enmity and such deterrent punishment was not only to maintain balance with the gravity of wrong but also to make an example for others as a preventive measure for the reformation of the society.
Ishaq and his accomplice Asim alias Capri face multiple trials in anti-terrorism courts. They have also been convicted by a military court for the murders of Military Police personnel and Sabri.The profile of the suspects, based on the input from the Counter-Terrorism Department, describes them as professional hitmen, experts in killing their targets in public and radicalised from a tender age.
