Pakistani president grants remission in sentences on Eid al Fitr

President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari has granted special remission in sentences to convicts of different categories on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr on the advice of the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif. According to an official statement, special remission of 90 days has been granted to the prisoners convicted for life imprisonment, except those convicted for heinous crimes including murder, espionage and anti-state activities, sectarianism, zina (adultery), robbery, dacoity, kidnapping/abduction and terrorist acts. The crescent sighting committee will be meeting on Thursday evening to receive persons who could have sighted crescent of the month of Shawwal of the Hijra year that would mark Eid Al-Fitr. The Special remission for 45 days was granted to all other convicts except the condemned prisoners and except those convicted of murder, espionage, subversion, anti-state activities, terrorist act, zina, kidnapping/abduction, robbery, dacoity and those undergoing sentences under the Foreigners Act 1946. The above special remissions would be admissible provided that the convicts have undergone 2/3rd of their substantive sentence of imprisonment adding that special remission of one year has been allowed to female prisoners who have accompanying children and are serving sentence of imprisonment for crimes other than culpable homicide and terrorism. The total remission has also been allowed to juvenile convicts (under 18 years of age) who have served 1/3rd of their substantive sentence except those involved in culpable homicide, terrorist act, zina, robbery, dacoit, kidnapping/abduction and anti-state activities.