Musharraf helps stay Briton's execution

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 25 (UPI) -- The execution in Pakistan of a British national for killing a taxi driver will be delayed by a month under a stay granted by President Pervez Musharraf.

Mirza Tahir Hussain, a British national of Pakistani origin who has been on death row for 17 years, was to be hanged next month, reports the Pakistan Times. He was convicted in 1989 of the killing of a taxi driver in Rawalpindi.

Musharraf's decision came following pleas of mercy from Hussain's brother Amjad and the British government, the newspaper reported quoting the foreign office. The stay will take effect from June 1.

Amjad Hussain was quoted as telling the BBC, "This is great news, but it is only a step in the right direction."