High court stays Qadri execution

Qadri,who has publicly confessed to the killing,was represented by Khwaja Muhammad Sharif,a retired Chief Justice of Lahore HC. Sharif said the trial court did not have the power to sentence Qadri to death. Trial court judge Pervez Ali Shah has gone into hiding after his courtroom was ransacked by lawyers following his verdict.

Several retired judges and scores of lawyers were present at Tuesdays hearing,and many of them offered to represent Qadri,witnesses said.

Outside the court,hundreds of Qadris supporters protested,demanding his acquittal and release.