Pakistan awards death penalty to six for Peshawar school attack

A military court on Thursday awarded death sentences to seven terrorists involved in Army Public School attack and Safoora Chowrangi gun attack, the incidents that left around 150 people dead including 140 school children.

“The sentences of death have been confirmed by the chief of army staff [Raheel Sharif]”, reads a statement on the website of the public relations branch of the Pakistani military.

The massacre shocked Pakistanis and led to a decision to lift a moratorium on executions that had been in place since 2008.

The statement also said that convicts were provided with a fair trial by following all legal formalities and offering them legal support and defence counsels.

Six of the suspects in the school attack case were awarded death sentences and one awarded life imprisonment.

In the attack on the Army Public School in December, explosions and gunfire rang out as seven armed men rampaged through the school in one of the bloodiest events in Pakistan’s history.

In a separate attack three Rangers officials were murdered at Safoora Chowrangi in Karachi.

The convict was an active member of Jaish-e-Muhammad.

The school was near a military complex in Peshawar and many of its students were the children of military personnel. The convict was an active member of TTP. He was tried on six charges and awarded death sentence. He was found involved in using Improvised Explosive Devices at the residence of 2 Civilians and transporting arms and ammunition.

On August 5, the Supreme Court of Pakistan rejected petitions filed against the 18th and 21st constitutional amendments, and ordered to keep the military courts intact.

Those facing the death penalty are not the seven who took part in the attack – all of whom died in the assault.