PAKISTAN: LAST-MINUTE RECONCILIATION, EXECUTION POSTPONED AS FAMILIES PARDON

the execution of a death row convict, who was scheduled to be hanged early in the morning, was stayed due to the last-minute reconciliatory efforts made by his heirs.
Munawar Ali Narejo, a prisoner at Larkana central jail, was to be hanged on a triple murder charge according to black warrants issued by the Shikarpur anti-terrorism court (ATC). The authorities had finalised the arrangements for the execution and the family was allowed to pay Munawar one last visit. However, his family members, in an attempt to stay the execution, pleaded for a compromise, which the victim’s family agreed to. They informed the prison authorities who contacted the relevant magistrate, who stayed the execution and told the families to file an appeal in the ATC, which would decide the matter.
The Munawar’s gang kidnapped four men from two villages near Garhi Khuda Bux in 2002. The kidnappers demanded ransom from the abductees’ families. In the meantime, an argument within the gang led to Munawar killing his accomplice Shamshad Narejo as well as two of the kidnapped. The other two hostages were later released by the gang.