Pakistan Supreme Court upholds death sentence for Kasur rape convict
Six-year-old girl was raped and killed earlier this year.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal by convict Imran Ali challenging the death sentence given to him by an anti-terrorism court for the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Kasur earlier this year.
A bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa dismissed the review petition during a hearing at the apex court’s Lahore Registry.
Speaking to the media after the verdict, the victim's father thanked the Supreme Court, the Joint Investigation Team and the prosecution for maintaining the earlier ruling. He reiterated his earlier demand for the public hanging of the convict.
Earlier, the Lahore high court too had dismissed Ali’s appeal challenging the capital punishment.
On February 17, the anti-terrorism court had sentenced Ali to death on four counts with a cumulative punishment of 32 years in prison. He was also fined ₹3.1 million for raping and killing the minor.
The brutal rape and murder of the girl had sparked outrage and protests across Pakistan. Thousands of people took to the streets and two people lost their lives when protests in Kasur turned violent.
Ali faces further charges in the cases of seven other children who were attacked in Kasur, including five who were murdered. The string of sexual assaults had stoked fears a serial child killer on the loose in the area. Ali confessed to all eight attacks, including the death of the six-year-old.
The six-year-old was abducted near her aunt’s home in Kasur on January 4. Five days later, her mutilated body was found in a garbage dump. Ali was nabbed after he was linked to the murder through DNA tests.