Murder convict hanged in Multan

MULTAN: Prison authorities at the Multan Central Jail on Tuesday executed a murder convict — the latest execution since Pakistan resumed the death penalty for all capital crimes.

Jail authorities in Multan said Nasrullah, convicted of murdering another man in 1994, was taken to the gallows early Tuesday morning.

55 convicts have now been hanged to death in Pakistan since the country lifted a moratorium on capital punishment in December.

Reintroducing the death penalty was part of the government’s move to step up its fight against militants and criminals after Taliban militants killed over 150 people – mostly children – at Peshawar’s Army Public School on Dec 16.

The moratorium, in force since 2008, was initially lifted only in terrorism cases.

But the government extended the order earlier this month, directing provincial governments to proceed with hangings for all death row prisoners who had exhausted their appeals and clemency petitions.

Human rights group Amnesty International estimates that Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row, most of whom have exhausted the appeals process.

Supporters of the death penalty in Pakistan argue that it is the only effective way to deal with the scourge of militancy.

Critics meanwhile say that Pakistan´s courts are largely unjust forums for decided cases, with rampant police torture, poor legal representation for victims, and unfair trials.