Bloodlust In Pakistan

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has stayed the execution of Mirza Tahir Hussain originally scheduled for June 1st for one month. However, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reports that Hussain’s brother fears for Hussain’s safety and has asked the jail to protect his life:

 Family members of British national Mirza Tahir Hussain, a murder convict, have requested the administration of Adiala jail to take stringent security steps as they feared for his life.

The convict’s brother Mirza Amjad Hussain in an application to Superintendent of Adiala jail Tariq Babar said he received threats from the family of Jamshed Khan who was killed by Tahir in 1989.

He claimed that his brother (Tahir) might be killed or injured by his rivals in the jail. He requested the jail administration to provide security to Tahir.

In his application, Amjad requested the administration that they had not allowed anyone to meet Tahir, except his relatives.

Amjad told Dawn that “the threats are always there.”

He said his family had been receiving threats for the last 18 years. Amjad quoted the rivals as saying that “we are obligated by our tradition to kill our enemy, even if he gets rescued by courts”.

It is not clear whether the jail will protect Hussain from being killed. The comments of the Deputy Superintendent of the jail are not reassuring:

Deputy Superintendent of Jail, Malik Safdar told Dawn that necessary measures would be taken for the security of Tahir on the verbal request of his brother Amjad on Wednesday.

When asked as to what measures are likely to be adopted for Tahir’s security, the deputy superintendent said: “How is it possible to provide security to a man in an overcrowded jail.”

Another Pakistani newspaper, the Pakistan Observer, has published a chilling editorial about the Hussain case. The editorial appears to condone and advocate the murder of Hussain by family members. It makes no reference to the dubious conviction of Hussain by an Islamic Court after an acquittal by Pakistan’s High Court. If this editorial’s position is shared by those operating the jail and others in a position to harm Mirza Tahir Hussain, then his life is in grave danger. The Pakistan Government needs to assure his safety at this crucial juncture. The Pakistan Government must not allow this man to be murdered in jail days after Musharraf stayed his execution.

The entire bloodthirsty Pakistan Observer editorial is printed below:

Security for jailed UK convict

FAMILY members of British national Mirza Tahir Hussain, a murder convict, have requested the administration of Adiala Jail to take stringent security steps as they feared for his life.

It is quite evident that in case any harm is done to the man at this stage, it will expose the state of affairs in this and other prisons of the country. However, the very fact that the family members of the convict fear for his life in the jail indicates the sad security situation in our jails. It is quite understood that the decision of the President to defer conviction of the murderer for a month has caused resentment and indignation amongst family members and relatives of the poor taxi driver, who was killed by Mirza Tahir Hussain. He committed the horrendous crime in 1989 and the poor heirs of the murdered taxi driver had to wait for 18 long long years to get justice. In the first place, this unduly long period in itself amounts to denial of justice but now that the President has stayed his conviction for a month there are chances that ultimately he might get relief. It is because of this denial of justice that people take the law into their hands and shower bullets on the aggressor right before the trial courts. This shows that the aggrieved parties have no faith in the judicial system. One wonders what promoted the President to make up his mind to stay the execution. In our view, the President has the right to condone sentences but he is not expected to do so in clear disregard to the principles of justice. It is unfortunate that our system has succumbed to foreign pressure so much so that we are also dictated on execution of one individual. If the UK Government or for that matter the President of Pakistan have developed some sort of sympathy for the murderer, then they should also keep in mind the plight of those whose near and dear one was killed by him. [Emphasis added by me.]