Pakistan army chief confirms death penalty of 5 hardcore terrorists

Pakistan's Army Chief General Raheel Sharif confirmed the death sentence on Thursday to another group of five "hardcore terrorists" who were awarded the capital punishment by military courts for involvement in terrorist acts, the military said.

"These five convicts were active member of Al-Qaeda," an army statement said.

They were perpetrated of an attack on a bus in the port city of Karachi in May 13 last year which had killed at least 46 people. All those killed belonged to the Ismaili Muslim minority.

They were also accused of the killing of a social worker Miss Sabeen Mahmud in Karachi in April last year, attacks on the law enforcement agencies and Improvised Explosive Device blast near a mosque in Karachi, which had killed and injured several people.

"These convicts were tried by Military Courts. The convicts admitted their offences before the trial court," the statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations said.

It is the second time in ten days that the army chief has confirmed death penalty of the terrorists.

On May 3, the Army Chief had confirmed the death sentence to 11 "hardcore terrorists" for committing heinous offences relating to terrorism.

The army courts were set up after the terrorist attack on an army school in December 2014 for the speedy trial of the terrorism-related accused. Endit