A ten-year-old-boy, watched by his mother, sister and...

A ten-year-old-boy, watched by his mother, sister and six-year-old brother executed Mohammad Hashem, the man convicted of his father's murder. A soldier from the ruling Taleban militia held the AK-assault rifle for the boy, and helped him shoot three shots into the back and the head of the convict, whilst the thousands of spectators gathered in a dusty football ground watched quietly. The circumstances of the father's death were never made clear, but it fell to the boy, who was the eldest male member of his family, to carry out the execution. Under the Taleban's strict interpretation of Islamic law, the relatives of a victim apply capital punishment. Mohammad Hashem was sentenced to death with the personal approval of Mohammad Omar, the head of the Taleban, also known as 'Amir-ul-Momenin' or king of the faithful. Minutes before the execution, two surgeons in black uniforms and black masks surgically removed the hand and foot of Daud Shah, a man accused of robbery. "You should take lessons and be grateful that you live under an Islamic government," an elderly cleric announced to the all-male crowd through an ageing loudspeaker slung around his neck.