Pakistani soldier sentenced to death for murder

A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced to death a member of a paramilitary force for the June killing of an unarmed man, a rare rebuke to the powerful security establishment. The anti-terrorism court sentenced five other Rangers and a civilian to life imprisonment. It also imposed a fine of 200,000 rupees ($2,317) on the Ranger receiving the death penalty, and 100,000 rupees each on the others. The incident, which took place in June in Karachi, was caught on videotape and broadcast on television, deepening anger against security forces already tarnished by their failure to detect a U.S. commando raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in May. The shooting of Sarfaraz Shah, who was unarmed, also triggered criticism of Pakistan's human rights record and its unpopular government, which many say has failed to rein in the police and army. "We have found justice. The court has given the right decision," said Muhammad Khan Buriro, a prosecutor. While commonly seen as part of the military establishment, the paramilitary Rangers are directly controlled by the civilian government. A lawyer for the convicted Rangers said he would appeal against the decision in the superior courts. POOL OF BLOOD The footage of the killing showed the Rangers shooting Shah at close range in a public park in Karachi named after the assassinated Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. A civilian -- who was also sentenced to life -- is seen grabbing Shah by the hair and dragging him over to a group of Rangers. Shah pleads for mercy, and then one of the soldiers shoots him twice. The footage shows Shah falling to the ground in a pool of his own blood and screaming in pain, while the soldiers stood around him. Salik Shah, a brother of the victim, told Reuters he was satisfied with the verdict. "We are satisfied with the punishment and we hope that the higher courts will also keep them and overturn the appeals of the accused," he said. ACCOUNTABILITY OF FORCES The ruling against the Rangers is the latest black mark against Pakistan's security establishment since the United States kept the military in the dark about the special forces operation that killed the al Qaeda leader. A handful of Pakistani Taliban militants assaulted a naval base in Karachi, causing further embarrassment. Pakistanis have traditionally been wary of criticising the army and its powerful intelligence service. "I would like to say that it was the personal action of the soldiers involved, and not an act by the Rangers," Buriro said. However, in an unusual move by civilian authorities, the country's highest court ordered the transfer of the director general of the Rangers in Sindh, a serving two-star army general, after the June killing. In another rare sign of public accountability in the powerful military establishment, a naval official said last week that three senior Pakistan Navy officers will face court martial on charges of negligence in connection with the attack in May.