Muzammil Ansari, a man found guilty of masterminding a series of bomb blasts in Mumbai between 2002 and 2003, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday (BBC, DNA). The prosecution had argued for the death penalty for Ansari, but a special terrorism court in Mumbai denied this request. Ansari was accused of planting explosives in the bomb blasts that killed 12 people and severely injured 27. The court sentenced two other convicts, Wahid Ansari and Farhan Khot, to life imprisonment, whereas ten others involved in the attacks were given ten years each.
Pakistan carried out 326 executions last year ranking third in the world for judicial killings, according to a report released by Amnesty International (Dawn). Most of those executed were not convicted of terror-related offenses, and there is evidence that some of them were juveniles when they committed their alleged crimes, according to Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s Director of South Asia Regional Office. Combined with Saudi Arabia and Iran – who occupy the number one and two spots – the three countries are responsible for almost 90 percent of total global executions. A report released in February from Reprieve, an international human rights group, and Justice Project Pakistan recorded 324 executions from Pakistan in 2015.
Death toll in Pakistan rises to 92 after natural disaster
The death toll rose to 92 on Wednesday after torrential rains caused flash flooding and landslides in parts of northwest Pakistan (Reuters). Most of the deaths occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where 65 people were killed. Twelve people were killed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and 15 people died in Gilgit-Baltistan. Rescuers continue to search for 23 people who were buried in a landslide in the northern mountains.