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PAD will file mercy petition for convict

DUBAI — The Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD) has decided to file a mercy petition for Qamar Ali Khan, the jailed Pakistani whose family is in Dubai to appeal for the freedom of their son.

Shafi Samana, President, PAD, said that the association will use its platform to help file a mercy petition for Qamar who has already spent 10 years of his life sentence behind bars.

“The association has agreed to file a mercy appeal for which prominent lawyer, Mohammed Ali Khan, has offered his services voluntarily,” he said.

Samana also said that because Qamar was involved in a drug-related case almost 10 years ago, it would take time for the association to retrieve all his files from the three courts.

“We already know that Qamar’s file No. is 1196, so the association will be filing a mercy petition in three courts including the high court and supreme court,” he explained, adding, “This is the maximum the association can do other than financially aiding the family of the victim.”

Qamar Ali Khan, a Pakistani from Peshawar was just 26-years-old when he was caught for smuggling drugs and was awarded the death sentence by the UAE government in 1994. Now 10 years after his imprisonment, his old mother and youngest brother have arrived in Dubai to appeal to General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, to grant freedom to Qamar.

“We are grateful to the association for helping us out in this hour of crisis. We are also thankful to them for helping us financially. When we set foot in the UAE, we had no clue as to whom to contact for help, thankfully we met the right people,” said the aged mother of Qamar.

Qamar Khan, now 36, is a computer engineer by profession. He was on a business trip to Dubai with his brother-in-law when he was arrested for carrying drugs in mid-94. He has two children, the eldest being 11-months-old when he was jailed, while he has not even seen his son.