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There's something rather distasteful about the Pakistan government's decision to delay the execution of , the Briton who has been on death row at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi for 18 years. Mr Hussain's execution was scheduled for November 1; clearly, a date determined before officials remembered that Prince Charles would be on an official visit that same day. Quickly side-stepping the diplomatic embarrassment of having to execute a British subject while the heir to the throne was visiting, a new date was arranged for December 31.

This is the fourth stay of execution Mr Hussain has endured since his conviction in 1988 for the murder of a taxi driver. I was not present at the trial, nor have I read a transcript. But we may presume that the Lahore High Court fully examined the facts when it reversed the original conviction in 1996. Mr Hussain maintains that he was defending himself against an attempted sexual assault, at gunpoint, when the gun was discharged and his assailant was killed. Nevertheless, the Federal Sharia Court reversed the decision of the High Court and Mr Hussain was sentenced to death after it was later determined that some of the offences fall under Islamic law.

Prince Charles deserves enormous credit for bringing international attention to Mr Hussain's story. One can only hope that this stay of execution will be further extended to allow further examination of a case that still raises significant legal and moral questions -- including questions about the relationship between secular and religious notions of justice.