RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office Thursday said that Pakistani authorities are in touch with officials in Jakarta and remains hopeful about the possibility of clemency for a Pakistani death row prisoner Zulfiqar Ali who is likely to be executed today (Friday).

“We are aware of the information that has appeared in the media about the trial and we have taken up the issue appropriately through diplomatic channels as well as at the political level…Rest assured we have made all efforts. Our efforts are continuing and we will not lose hope,” Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria told his weekly media briefing.

He said Syed Zulfiqar Ali, a Pakistani national, was arrested on drug trafficking charges from Bogor, Indonesia, in November 2004.

The District Court awarded him death sentence in 2005 and the higher court upheld the decision of the district court in 2006. He said that the charges were framed against Zulfiqar Ali on the basis of a statement given by a single witness, who was himself sentenced to death.

Zulfiqar Ali’s two appeals for judicial review, first in 2008 and again in 2013, were turned down, he said, adding the last legal course available is seeking clemency which he has now applied for. He said that the government of Pakistan has been taking up the issue with the Indonesian government at various levels, through both political and diplomatic channels, ever since his arrest in 2004.

The matter was taken up at the level of the Heads of State in 2007, he said, adding the Indonesian side was repeatedly urged to review the case of Zulfiqar Ali.

Most recently, he said that the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz raised the matter with the Indonesian Ambassador. This was followed up by the Additional Secretary (Asia-Pacific) with the Indonesian Ambassador, he added. In parallel with efforts in Islamabad, he said that the Pakistan Embassy in Jakarta was directed to take up the case of Zulfiqar Ali with the Indonesian authorities at all levels and with all concerned institutions.

He said that the Embassy has maintained contact with Zulfiqar Ali through consular access, and has been in regular touch with his family, his lawyer and others concerned. It also hired a lawyer to pursue his case in Court, he added.

While respecting the judicial system of Indonesia, he said the government of Pakistan hopes that the clemency appeal filed by Zulfiqar Ali will be considered favourably by the government of Indonesia on humanitarian grounds.