Two murder convicts hanged in Multan as Ramazan moratorium ends

Pakistan today hanged two murder convicts as the government resumed controversial executions following a month-long break during the holy month of Ramzan that ended last week.

The murder convict Farooq Babar had murdered a person in 1998 after the later failed to return an amount of borrowed money while Karim Nawaz had killed a person over an old feud. “They have been executed today after resumption of hangings following a temporary moratorium because of Ramadan”, added Saeed.

Amnesty global estimates that Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row, many of whom have exhausted all avenues of appeal.

The early morning executions in the central city of Multan brought the total number of convicts hanged since December 2014 – when Pakistan ended a moratorium on the death penalty – to 176, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

The ruling PML-N government had lifted the moratorium on the death penalty in terrorism-related cases in the wake of a Taliban attack at the Army Public School in Peshawar, which claimed 141 lives, majority children.

The death penalty was originally reserved for terror convicts but was later expanded in March to include all capital crimes.

Critics say the country’s criminal justice system is marred by police torture and poor legal representation, meaning many of those now facing the gallows have not had a fair trial.

Another death row convict named Kareem Nawaz was hanged for killing a man in Bohar Gate area of Multan in 1999.

The European Union (EU) has been asking Pakistan to reinstate the moratorium on death penalty and fully respect all of its worldwide obligations.