Pakistani military courts have sentenced seven people to death over attacks including an assault on a Peshawar school that killed 150 people, most of whom were children, the Pakistani army says.
Another man was sentenced to life in prison, according to an army The army said six of the convicts were members of the Tawhid-wal-Jihad group, while the other two were from Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Taliban and Jaish-e-Mohammad groups.
Army chief General Raheel Sharif confirmed the sentences, but it was unclear when they would be carried out.
Support for death penalty
Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the Pakistani people were in favour of the death penalty and wanted the military to conduct speedy trials.
"There is support on the ground, however civil rights organisations would not be supporting the move, saying the death penalty should be abolished," our correspondent said.
Tawhid-wal-Jihad was established in the late 1990s by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who went on to lead al-Qaeda's Iraq affiliate, a precursor of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, before he was killed in a US air strike in 2006.
Pakistan's military says the men belonging to Tawhid-wal-Jihad played a major role in planning and facilitating the school attack and several other assaults. However, the school attack was claimed at the time by the Tehreek-e-Taliban.
statement on Thursday.
The army said six of the convicts were members of the Tawhid-wal-Jihad group, while the other two were from Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Taliban and Jaish-e-Mohammad groups.
Army chief General Raheel Sharif confirmed the sentences, but it was unclear when they would be carried out.
Support for death penalty
Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the Pakistani people were in favour of the death penalty and wanted the military to conduct speedy trials.
"There is support on the ground, however civil rights organisations would not be supporting the move, saying the death penalty should be abolished," our correspondent said.
Tawhid-wal-Jihad was established in the late 1990s by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who went on to lead al-Qaeda's Iraq affiliate, a precursor of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, before he was killed in a US air strike in 2006.
Pakistan's military says the men belonging to Tawhid-wal-Jihad played a major role in planning and facilitating the school attack and several other assaults. However, the school attack was claimed at the time by the Tehreek-e-Taliban.
No comments:
Post a Comment