PAKISTAN: SUSPENSION OF ZULFIQAR ALI'S EXECUTION EXTENDED

in Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali's 14 day stay of execution was extended another 60 days to allow time for negotiations for a compromise between the families. Ali's younger brother, Abdul Qayyum, said they initially needed more time because 'at first we did not even know where they lived'. 'We lost some time because of that. Now we need to proceed slowly. These things do not happen in a hurry. Those families have also suffered a loss and have to be handled delicately. We are hopeful that they will agree to a compromise, but I cannot say at this point what it will involve,' he told IPS. Negotiations are being carried out through intermediaries. 'I do not want to get into whether my brother is guilty or not. I am only begging forgiveness for him on humanitarian grounds from the affected families, from the government, from God,' said Qayyum. Ali was sentenced to death in 1998 for the death of two passers-by shot when he used his licensed revolver during a quarrel with a bus-driver. A district court sentenced him to death in April 1998. The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission has also appealed to the Pakistan government for clemency on the grounds that Ali did not have adequate legal representation.