A man convicted of raping and murdering a child in Kasur city of Pakistan was executed at a prison in Lahore on Wednesday morning. Imran Ali was hanged at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Central Jail, over nine months after the crime.
The girl’s father and uncle were present when Ali was executed. Police and anti-riot personnel surrounded the jail as the hanging took place, Dawn reported. After the execution, Ali’s family, guarded by police personnel, took his body to Kasur.
Talking to reporters after the execution, the girl’s father said he regretted that the hanging was not telecast live. He thanked Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar and said: “The murderer has met his fate today.”
The girl’s body was found in a heap of trash days after she went missing from near her aunt’s house in Kasur on January 4. She was on her way to a tuition centre, and her parents were in Saudi Arabia for a pilgrimage. Her death triggered massive protests in the district, where there had been 11 similar cases over 12 months.
Ali was arrested on January 23. An anti-terrorism court handed him four counts of death penalty, one life term and a fine of 32 lakh Pakistani rupees (Rs 17.90 lakh) in February. In June, the Pakistan Supreme Court rejected his appeal against the death penalty, and on October 10, Pakistan President Arif Alvi dismissed his plea for clemency.
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