KARACHI, July 3: An anti-terrorism court reissued on Tuesday black warrants for the execution of three condemned prisoners.

Two activists of the proscribed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Attaullah alias Qasim and Mohammad Azam alias Sharif, were sentenced to death in 2004 after an ATC found them guilty of killing a doctor while the third convict, Behram Khan, got capital punishment in 2003 for murdering a lawyer.

Jail authorities had filed applications in court on Monday stating that the previous black warrants issued by the court had lost their legal validity since the presidency issued stay orders to block the hanging.

They submitted that the stay orders in both cases stood lapsed on June 30 and no further orders were received to defer the hanging.

They prayed to the court to issue fresh black warrants for the execution of the three convicts.

While entertaining the pleas, Judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon of the ATC-III issued fresh black warrants and fixed July 17 for the execution of convict Behram and July 18 for the LJ men.

The court directed the jail authorities to hang them till death at 4.30am on the respective dates after completing legal formalities.

The appeals and mercy petitions of the convicts have been dismissed by the superior judiciary and the president, respectively.

The same court issued black warrants for the LJ men on June 11 and fixed June 26 for their execution while a black warrant for Behram was issued on May 10 for May 23 for his hanging.

However, the presidency deferred the executions till June 30 in both cases by issuing a number of stay orders.

The LJ activists gunned down Dr Ali Raza Peerani on sectarian grounds in June 2001 in Soldier Bazaar when he came out of his clinic and about to leave in his car.

Behram killed Advocate Mohammad Ashraf on April 15, 2003 in a courtroom of the Sindh High Court. The convict along with a sub-inspector actually came to kill Advocate Qurban Ali Chauhan, who was a lawyer for the accused in a murder case, but killed Ashraf as he did not recognise Qurban.

Robber jailed for five years

A sessions court sentenced on Tuesday a man to five years in prison in a robbery case.

The court found Mushtaq Ahmed guilty of robbing a man in April 2011 within the remit of the Chakiwara police station.

However, a co-accused, Imran Ali, was acquitted for want of evidence.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (south) Javed Ahmed Keerio, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex in the Karachi central prison, pronounced his verdict after hearing both sides.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs50,000 and in case of default the convict would have to undergo an additional six-month imprisonment.

The court ruled that Mushtaq was arrested on the spot while stolen articles and an unlicensed pistol were also found in his possession.

It added that the case of the co-accused was on a different footing since no recovery was made from his custody and the prosecution was also failed to place any solid evidence against him.

According to the prosecution, the accused along with their absconding accomplices deprived complainant Mohammad Imran of cash, cellphone and other valuables. However, people present around overpowered Mushtaq while the remaining accused managed to flee, it added. Later, the police also arrested accused Imran.

A case (FIR 71/11) was registered under Sections 392 (punishment for robbery) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) at the Chakiwara police station. Earlier, a judicial magistrate had also convicted Mushtaq of keeping an illicit weapon.

Constable remanded in police custody

A judicial magistrate remanded on Tuesday a police constable in police custody in a fake educational certificate case till July 5.

Constable Fayyaz Ahmed of the railway police has been booked for allegedly joining the department on the basis of a fake matric certificate.

The suspect was arrested on Monday and the police produced him before a judicial magistrate (south) for remand. The magistrate handed him over to the police on two-day physical remand.

According to the prosecution, on a directive of the Inspector-General of the railway police, the academic certificates of railway police officials and personnel were sent to the education boards concerned for verification in March. The certificate of Fayyaz was declared fake by the Board of Secondary Education Karachi on June 20, it added.

A case (FIR 32/12) was registered against the policeman under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471(using as genuine a forged document) of the PPC at the Railway City police station.