Pak serial killer executed for raping, killing 7-yr-old

A Pakistani serial killer was executed at a prison in Lahore on Wednesday after a court dismissed a petition for his public hanging filed by the father of a seven-yearold girl, who was raped and murdered by the convict.

Imran Ali, who was convicted for the rape and murder of the minor girl in the city of Kasur, some 50-km from Lahore earlier this year, was hanged to death this morning in Kot Lakhpat Central Jail.

Ali, 23, was executed in the presence of both Magistrate Adil Sarwar and the deceased girl’s father. The girl’s uncle was also present at the jail, the Dawn reported.

A two-member Lahore High Court bench comprising Justice Sardar Shamim Ahmed and Justice Shahbaz Rizvi on Tuesday dismissed the plea of Amin Ansari, father of the girl, seeking public hanging of the convict.

In January last, police arrested Imran two weeks after he raped and killed the minor girl and threw her body into a garbage dump in Kasur. The incident triggered nationwide street protests in Pakistan with people seeking a harsh punishment for the convict. Violent protests in Kasur city following her murder claimed two lives.

An anti-terrorism court here last week ruled that Imran’s death sentence will be carried out on October 17 at Lahore’s Central Jail.

Imran, a resident of Kasur, was accused of being involved in at least nine incidents of rape-cum-murder of minors. The court has given its verdict in five cases.

Ansari’s counsel had also requested the court to allow a live telecast of the hanging inside the jail.

The court did not agree and dismissed the petition.