Gazipur: War crimes convict Mir Quasem Ali, who has been sentenced to death, wants to wait until the last minute to decide whether he will seek presidential clemency, and before that, he wants to see his son barrister Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem who remained missing for the last couple of days, says quasem’s wife  Ayesha Khatun.

Mir Quasem will decide about the mercy after talking to his son, she added.

The family members of Mir Quasem Ali met him at Kashimpur jail in Gazipur on Wednesday,

Six members of Mir Quasem’s family—his wife Khandaker Ayesha Khatun, two daughters Sumaiya Rabeya and Tahera Taslim, two daughters-in-law Tahmina Akter and Shaheda Tahmida and his nephew Hasan Zaman—entered the jail gate at about 1:30pm.

They spent 45 minutes with him and got out of it at about 3:30pm, said Proshanto Kumar Banik, jail super of Kashimpur jail.

Earlier in the day, Mir Quasem Ali sought time from the Kashimpur Jail authorities to decide whether he will seek presidential mercy, UNB reported.

Meanwhile, the copy of the SC verdict rejecting the review plea of

Mir Quasem Ali reached the Dhaka Central Jail around 9.10pm on

Tuesday.

Jail super Proshanto Kumar Banik of Kashimpur jail read out the Supreme Court verdict to Mir Quasem Ali.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death penalty for Mir Quasem Ali for the crimes he committed against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.

On 19 June, barrister Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, son of Mir Quasem, filed the 68-page review petition with the Appellate Division against the death penalty handed down to him for his crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.

International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) issued death warrant for Mir Quasem hours after the apex court released the full text of its verdict upholding his death penalty on 6 June.

On 8 March, the Appellate Division upheld the death penalty for Mir Quasem Ali for his war crimes.

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 sentenced Mir Quasem Ali, Al-Badr chief in the port city of Chittagong in 1971, to death on 2 November 2014.

On 30 November 2014, he filed an appeal with the Supreme Court challenging the death penalty.

Top Jamaat-e-Islami financier Quasem, now 64, was president of the Chittagong town unit of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat, till 6 November 1971.

He was then made general secretary of the East Pakistan Chhatra Sangha.