Pakistani Taliban militant sentenced to death for Ahmadi attack

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court here today handed down the death sentence to a Pakistani Taliban militant for a 2010 attack on members of the minority Ahmadi sect in Lahore that killed over 90 people.

The court also handed down life imprisonment to another Taliban militant in the case and imposed a fine of Rs 3.3 million on each of the convicts.

The Lahore police in collaboration with intelligence agencies had arrested Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants - Mauvia and Abdullah - for their alleged involvement in the attack on two places of worship of the Ahmadi community in Ghari Shahu and Model Town in May, 2010, that killed over 90 people, including children, and injured 150 others.

"The case had been underway for the last few years in which the prosecution presented evidence against the arrested accused. Today the court announced its verdict," a court official said.

He said since the higher judiciary had directed anti-terrorism courts to expedite pending cases the Lahore court decided the case after completing the hearing in shortest possible time.

"The court awarded death sentence to Taliban commando Mauvia and life sentence to Abdullah, besides Rs 3.3 million fine on each of the convicts, they will have to undergo a rigorous imprisonment for seven years," he said.

The Ahmadis were declared non-Muslims by the Pakistani government in 1974. They are frequent victims of discrimination and violence but militants are rarely convicted for attacks against them.