Five Pakistan Navy officers get death sentence over terrorism charges

A Pakistan Navy court has awarded death sentence to five officers who had planned to hijack a navy warship and attack one of the U.S. navy's refuel ships in 2014, family of one of the convicts and local media said on Tuesday.

The security forces had foiled the plan on September 2014 and killed the group leader, Owais Jakhrani, a retired navy officer, and another militant while four militants were arrested. Jakhrani was earlier dismissed from service because of his alleged links with the militant groups.

Saeed Ahmed, a retired army major, told the media that a navy court has handed death penalty to his son, Sub-Lieutenant Hammad Ahmed, and four other naval officers, according to Dawn TV.

He was quoted in reported comments that all five convicts were charged with having links with the Islamic State outfit or Daesh, mutiny, hatching a conspiracy and carrying weapons in the dockyard.

There was no official word by the Pakistan Navy.

Ahmed said he knew about capital punishment when he recent met his son at a detention center. Four other officers who have been awarded death sentence were identified as Irfanullah, Muhammad Hammad, Arsalan Nazeer and Hashim Naseer.

Defence Minister, Khwaj Asif, had told the parliament after the attack that it was carried out with the help of insiders as it was impossible to enter the dockyard. Endit