Pakistan to halt executions in Ramazan

Islamabad, June 14: The PAkistani government has imposed a moratorium on executions during the upcoming holy month of Ramazan.

A notification was issued on Friday by the federal interior ministry and provincial governments have also been requested to comply with the order, Dawn reported.

During the month of Ramazan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, and refrain from eating and drinking.

The federal government lifted the moratorium on the death penalty on December 17, 2014, in terrorism related cases only, in the wake of a Taliban attack at the Army Public School in Peshawar, which claimed 150 lives, most of them children.

Later, the government completely reinstated capital punishment for all offences that entail the death penalty.

The UN, the European Union, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have urged the government to re-impose the moratorium on the death penalty.

Critics say the country's criminal justice system was marred by police torture, poor legal representation for victims and unfair trials.

In Pakistan, hanging is the only legal method of execution.

IANS