PAKISTAN: PHC SETS ASIDE DEATH SENTENCES TO OVER 50 CONVICTS

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on 18 October 2018 set aside death sentence to more than 50 convicts awarded by the military courts on terrorism charges including suicide attacks and martyring security forces, police, lawmakers and civilians.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Lal Jan Khattak allowed all the revision petitions filed against conviction by military courts, including death sentence to 50 convicts and two convicts of life imprisonment.
The bench allowed appeals after three days of detailed arguments from both the counsels of the convicts and law officers defending the convictions and examining the record of the cases.
The PHC ordered the release of the convicts after observing that the charges against the accused had not been proven.
"All the appeals against the death sentence, life imprisonment and other sentences of 14 years to 20 years against the decisions of military courts are allowed and reasons to be recorded in detailed judgment," the bench announced in a short order.