ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military chief Thursday approved the execution of five “hardcore terrorists” that the army said were involved in the killing of a prominent rights activist and a deadly bus attack claimed by Daesh.
An army statement said the five were charged in a military court and admitted their guilt, though it did not specify what they were charged with.
Military chief Gen. Raheel Sharif had confirmed the death sentences, it said.
The five “perpetrated” the attack on a bus in Karachi last May, in which gunmen stormed the vehicle and killed 45 members of the minority Ismaili community, the statement said.
Daesh claimed the attack, though the military statement Thursday described the five as “active” members of Al-Qaeda. No reason for the discrepancy was immediately given.
The five were also “involved” in the killing of rights activist Sabeen Mehmood as well as several other attacks, the statement said, without offering more details.
Mehmood was shot dead in Karachi in April last year minutes after hosting a seminar.
Months later, authorities revealed that the main suspect in the bus attack, Saad Aziz, had admitted to Mehmood’s murder also.
Aziz was among the five whose executions were confirmed Thursday.
Pakistan reinstated the death penalty and established military courts as part of a crackdown after its deadliest ever extremist attack, when gunmen stormed a school in the northwest in 2014 leaving more than 150 people dead.
An army statement said the five were charged in a military court and admitted their guilt, though it did not specify what they were charged with.
Military chief Gen. Raheel Sharif had confirmed the death sentences, it said.
The five “perpetrated” the attack on a bus in Karachi last May, in which gunmen stormed the vehicle and killed 45 members of the minority Ismaili community, the statement said.
Daesh claimed the attack, though the military statement Thursday described the five as “active” members of Al-Qaeda. No reason for the discrepancy was immediately given.
The five were also “involved” in the killing of rights activist Sabeen Mehmood as well as several other attacks, the statement said, without offering more details.
Mehmood was shot dead in Karachi in April last year minutes after hosting a seminar.
Months later, authorities revealed that the main suspect in the bus attack, Saad Aziz, had admitted to Mehmood’s murder also.
Aziz was among the five whose executions were confirmed Thursday.
Pakistan reinstated the death penalty and established military courts as part of a crackdown after its deadliest ever extremist attack, when gunmen stormed a school in the northwest in 2014 leaving more than 150 people dead.
