Peshawar terror attack: Pak removes moratorium on death penalty

Peshawar, Dec 17: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday approved the lifting of moratorium on death penalty after the ghastly terror strike in a school in Peshawar on Tuesday that killed 141 people, including 132 children, a report in the Dawn said.[Pak Army retaliates against Taliban]

Addressing an All Parties Conference in Peshawar, the Pakistani premier said that the moratorium on death penalty, which was implemented under international pressure, had been removed. The prime minister's office also confirmed the news later, saying moratorium on death penalty in terrorism-related cases had been done away with. [Hafeez Saeed condemns Peshawar school terror attack]

Sharif, soon after assuming office of the PM in May last year, had sought to reinstate the provision of death penalty to tackle criminals and militants and his government also decided to execute four convicts in August last year. But it could not proceed after the Pakistan Peoples Party and other rights groups raised objection.

On Tuesday, sources in the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl said that the moratorium on death penalty was strengthening hands of the terrorists. Its general secretary and a minister Maulana Haidri said the state had no right to remove such penalty, the Dawn report said.

Pakistan is known to be the home of the largest death-row population in the world with over 8,000 prisoners given death sentence.

Oneindia News