MULTAN: A court on Monday upheld the death sentence on a prominent Islamic militant arrested last week after years on the run. Abdul Hayee, alias Asadullah and head of a splinter group of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group, was sentenced in absentia to death in 1998 for killing six Shi’ite Muslims in a sectarian attack on a mosque a year earlier. He was arrested in Muzaffargarh, about 25 km (15 miles) west of Multan, after years on the run. On Monday he was brought before a court in Dera Ghazi Khan, where the judge issued his conviction warrants, meaning the death sentence would stand, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Awais Malik said. The militants can appeal against the conviction and sentence to a higher court. Police say the militants trained thousands of fighters in Afghanistan during the Taliban’s rule until late 2001.
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