Daily Times

As far as I am concerned, hanging in the middle of the night is the worst way to legally kill somebody. Yes, I oppose the death penalty but at least if something has to be done absolutely, positively and necessarily so then it should be done with some panache. We already have some guidance in this matter from the Taliban and Islamic State (IS) types whose style of execution is demonstrative enough to be considered some sort of deterrence for people who oppose them. However, our Saudi ‘friends’ have perfected the art of public execution. Since Mian Nawaz Sharif, our Prime Minister (PM), wanted to restart the executions of convicted criminals and terrorists in Pakistan to deter crime and to emulate the Saudis, perhaps it is time for Pakistan to follow the example of the Saudis but with some improvement.
Why is my mind working in this direction? Well, first it is due to an episode of Game of Thrones I watched recently. John Snow orders one of his minions to perform a particular task, which the minion refuses and, to make matters worse, insults Snow’s paternity. At this, Snow as a good leader is forced to do the needful. He orders the disobedient minion to be taken ‘outside’ where Snow, using his own sword, decapitates the offending minion. The other reason is a picture I saw in a local paper of a Saudi execution. The criminal was already dressed in a white shroud and the executor stood next to the victim brandishing an impressive looking scimitar. Both situations showed a very public execution that presumably was expected to have the appropriate effect on the watchers.
There are many things that can and should be done to improve the execution of criminals and terrorists. First, midnight hangings in jails should be abandoned. Handing out a dead terrorist to the family to mourn and bury rarely provides the needed example to future criminals or terrorists. As a matter of fact, if anything, it spurs them on. All executions should be in public, during the day and consist of decapitation with a sword. These should be televised. Participation of the general public as spectators must be encouraged. Perhaps even school children should be allowed to attend and to strengthen their faith in the Islamic policies of their rulers. Also, it is important at an early age to teach children about how bad career choices can result in a bad end.
Besides the public participation, I have a few other suggestions. Since our PM is the person who is primarily responsible for allowing executions after a multi-year moratorium, he should be seen actively participating in these executions. I can just imagine Mian Sahib dressed up like Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia waving a scimitar at the head of a convicted terrorist. It would make great television and subsequent still pictures that would fill Mian Sahib’s supporters with extreme amounts of love, affection and awe. At the rate we are going, there are some 20 executions every month. Clearly Mian Sahib cannot attend all of them. So, there should be two-tier executions. At the provincial level besides the general public and schoolchildren, provincial officials should participate with the provincial Chief Minister (CM) officiating in the Lawrence of Arabia role. Members of the judiciary that convicted and those that rejected appeals against conviction must attend. Seeing the octogenarian CM of Sindh waving a scimitar will definitely dispel any doubts about his possible senility.
Once a month the most heinous criminals and terrorists convicted to die should be brought to Islamabad to be executed. It is in these executions that the PM should officiate. The president of Pakistan should be in attendance since he has obviously rejected their mercy pleas. Also, members of the extremely honourable Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan that finally rejected pleas against the death sentence should also attend. All levels of the judiciary must participate to see justice in action. After all, ‘justice’ does carry a sword in one hand. The important aspect of this display is that terrorists will start shaking and quaking in their boots (or sandals) out of abject fear once they are confronted with such sterling resolve on the part of the politicians and the judiciary. As far as suicide bombers are concerned perhaps even they might be dissuaded from blowing themselves up when confronted with such resolute action on the part of the government. Why they would do that is of course difficult to figure out.
After a few initial missteps, surely the Islamic government of the Islamic Republic will figure out how to do things right especially during the televised proceedings. Initially, Saudi consultants might be needed to teach our political luminaries the correct way to use a scimitar to chop a head off. In a country starved for entertainment, these central and provincial public executions along with well produced television shows built around these executions could be a game changer for the official television station with private channels soon clamouring for a piece of the action. These public executions will be a source of education for the public, especially for children, on how crime or terrorism does not pay. Midnight hangings are a left over way of punishment from our former colonial masters and must be abandoned for correct Islamic practices. Here, who better to emulate than the Saudis and Islamic State (IS) in such an important matter?
Also, what if criminals condemned to die are given an option? Either be killed by the sword while awake or die under anaesthesia but after you are dead your organs can be harvested for transplantation. Oh yes, I can almost hear a collective shudder among my readers about the amorality of such an action. We are killing this person and you are worried about the morality of taking his organs so some sick person can live? Peculiar morality that. But the best thing to do is stop killing convicts.

The author is a former editor of the Journal of Association of Pakistani descent Physicians of North America (APPNA)