Death Penalty is Back in Pakistan

Earlier this month, Pakistan’s new government decided to reintroduce the death penalty in an attempt to curb the escalating crime rate. It was banned 5 years ago but the moratorium expired last month.

Lawyers are pushing the government to hang all prisoners on death row.

They held protests across the country... demanding the hanging of prisoners on death row. With frequent killings across the country, lawyers have become targets too.

According to the High Court Bar Association in Karachi, over 40 lawyers have been assasinated since 2007 says the president Mustafa Lakhani.

“We request the government, the high court and law enforcing agencies to implement the death sentences so that it can be a deterrent to other criminals."

He filed a petition earlier this month to the high court to demand convicts on death row be executed soon.

“A message would go to the terrorists that whatever they do, they will do at the cost of their lives. And the courts are fully alive to convict them and implement the death sentences.”

In 2008, the government banned the death penalty, but the moratorium expired last month.  There are around 8,000 prisoners on death row - most of them are charged with terrorism activities.

Earlier last month a powerful bomb exploded in Karachi, killing nine people and wounding a senior judge -  the main target of the attack. Khalid Mahmood lost his brother in the explosion.

“I would call it open terrorism and it should be controlled. Terrorists must be sentenced to death and those who have been sentenced to death must be hanged. Or be killed on the spot to show them how it feels for the families of the victims of terrorism.”

Pakistan is among 29 countries where capital punishment is legal. Many officials believe it’s the key to deterring crime... although 150 other countries have abolished the punishment.

With the new policy, the government will execute all death row prisoners except those pardoned on humanitarian grounds.

But Amnesty International says the new policy is “shocking” and has demanded the government stop the hangings.

Human rights activist Asma Jahangir says the punishment is also discriminatory.

“Under Pakistani law the only way to save a convict from the gallows in a murder case is to pay blood money to the deceased's family. But, still it makes it difficult for the majority of convicts, who are poor, cannot pay the money, so they're hanged. So this is a discriminatory law that can only help the wealthy to get off scot free by paying blood money, and only the poor are hanged. This does not serve the law nor does it control the crime rate.”

The interior ministry has sent the cases of 400 death-row prisoners to the president for a quick decision.

But lawyer Zafarullah Khan filed a petition to halt their execution, arguing that their mercy petitions were pending before the President.

He adds that the country has a long history of awarding death penalties to the innocent.

“There must be due process of law. There’s also corruption in the country. Well there shouldn’t be corruption in the country, but can the government deny that? Are there false cases registered and false statements recorded during the trial?”

As it’s the holy month of Ramadhan, under Pakistani law no hangings can take place.

The case is now pending in the Supreme Court.... giving some reprieve for the prisoners before their execution.