A division bench of Lahore High Court here Friday stayed the execution of a condemned prisoner, Faiz Ahmad, till January 05. The bench while staying the execution summoned the superintendent of Faisalabad jail, who had obtained death warrants of Faiz. Bench also sought explanation from the anti terrorism court as to how the black warrants were issued when the appeal was pending before the Supreme Court.
An anti-terrorism court had awarded death penalty to Faiz in 2006 for killing a Lance Naik Tariq Mehmood in Nankana Sahib. The LHC had confirmed his death sentence and Faiz filed an appeal before Supreme Court, which had granted leave to appeal. A special anti-terrorism court on December 25, 2014 had issued death warrant of Faiz on an application filed by Faisalabad jail superintendent and had fixed January 14 for his execution.