ISLAMABAD/JAKARTA: Indonesia has halted the execution of Pakistani drug convict Zulfiqar Ali, Pakistan’s ambassador in Jakarta said on Thursday, hours before the Lahore resident was set to face a firing squad. Zulfiqar Ali, 52, was transferred on Monday to Nusakambangan prison island off Java where executions take place. Talking to a private new channel from Jakarta, Pakistani ambassador to Indonesia M Aqil Nadeem said Indonesian authorities had halted the execution of the Pakistani citizen.
Rights groups expressed serious concerns about Ali’s conviction, alleging it arose out of beatings and torture and he did not have a fair trial. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a late night message that the government would file a mercy appeal in Indonesia to cancel the death penalty.
Meanwhile, Indonesia executed a local and three Nigerian drug convicts.
