Former MQM worker executed in Pakistan

Karachi: Pakistan on Tuesday hanged a former MQM worker, whose execution was postponed twice, in the Machh jail in Balochistan province, after 17 years of his conviction. Saulat Mirza was hanged this morning and his body was handed over to relatives, a police official said. Mirza was sentenced to death in 1999 by an anti-terrorist court here for killing Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation chief Shahid Hamid, his guard and driver in 1997. He was also investigated in several other killings in Karachi in 1990s. According to wife of Mirza, he was closely linked with Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), but the party disowned him. Initially, he was to be hanged on March 19 but it was postponed after a video surfaced in which Mirza said he killed Hamid on behalf of MQM party and its chief Altaf Hussain. MQM vehemently denied it but government set up team which interrogated Mirza in jail. After this fresh death warrants were issued on May 2 and he was hanged today. Pakistan lifted moratorium on death in December after the Taliban stormed a school in Peshawar and killed about 150 people, mostly students. So far more than 100 people have been hanged, drawing severe criticism from the rights groups. Pakistan has more than 8,000 death row prisoners. (PTI)