Pak urged to spare life of Briton on death row

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A Muslim group has urged Pakistan to free a Briton of Pakistani origin who is scheduled to be executed next month for allegedly killing a taxi driver 18 years ago.

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Mirza Tahir Hussain, 35, was arrested in 1988 during a trip to Pakistan to visit his family, according to The Muslim Parliament, a British-based group that lobbies for the rights of British Muslims.

Hussain had been traveling in a taxi near Rawalpindi, a city next to the capital, Islamabad, when the driver tried to physically and sexually assault him, the group said in a statement. As Hussain defended himself, the driver took out a pistol, but it discharged accidentally and killed the driver, it said. Despite the Briton then going to a police station and handing over the weapon, he was arrested, prosecuted and convicted of murder.