KARACHI, Jan 09 (INP): The Sindh High Court on Friday rejected the mercy appeals of three death row convicts.

The jail superintendent informed the court that the Federal Interior Ministry had already halted Hussain’s execution. As such, his appeal was not applicable for hearing.

On the other hand, appeals filed by family members of convicts Saeed Awan and Behram Khan were cancelled on the grounds that they did not receive a presidential pardon.

Khan’s execution will take place on Jan 13 whereas Awan is scheduled to be hanged on Jan 15 in Sukkur.

Shafqat Hussain, a watchman at a residential complex, was condemned to death by an anti-terrorism court in September 2004 for abducting and killing a child.

The convict was said to be 14 years of age when he was convicted, mainly based upon his own confession submitted in court after nine days of detention with the police.

Earlier this week, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had announced that the government was going to halt his impending execution.

INP/