Islamabad: The Pakistan government will order a two month stay of execution for a Briton due to be hanged on November 1, in order to give time to work out a way to spare his life, officials said on Thursday.
Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, from Leeds in northern England was convicted of killing a taxi driver 18 years ago, and has spent half his life in jail. Hussain has been on the death row since June but the government has stayed his execution from month to month to give his relatives more time to persuade the victim's family to pardon him in return for compensation.
Rights groups, and British politicians have pleaded with President Pervez Musharraf to pardon Hussain, arguing that there had been a miscarriage of justice.
"Initially, a two-month stay order is being given for his execution. In the meantime the government will try to find a permanent solution to this issue," a senior government official told Reuters.
An official at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi city where Hussain is being held said they had received orders staying execution until December 31, 2006. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and its heir to the throne Prince Charles have also called for clemency.
Speaking in the British Parliament on Wednesday, Blair hoped that Musharraf would use his powers to spare Hussain.
"I hope even at this stage there is an intervention to ensure this does not take place. I think it would be very serious if it does, there is a limit to what the president can do. I hope he can use the powers that he has." Prince Charles, who is due to visit Pakistan along with his wife Camilla on October 29-November 3, has also appealed for clemency in a letter to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, the Times newspaper reported.
Under Pakistan's parallel Islamic legal system, Hussain could be freed if Khan's family accepts a blood money settlement. Hussain has always contended that the taxi driver, Jamshaid Khan, tried to sexually assault him and then pulled a gun, which went off when they struggled.
He was originally acquitted of the crime, but was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to death by an Islamic court in 1998, and his appeals to the Supreme Court and for a presidential pardon were subsequently turned down.
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