Two murder convicts hanged in Lahore, Sahiwal

LAHORE: Two death row convicts have been executed at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore and Sahiwal Central Jail in the early hours of Tuesday.

According to sources at Kot Lakhpat prison, death row inmate Tayyab was hanged for murdering Abrar Hussain in Toba Tek Singh back in 2000.

The second execution of the morning was carried out at Sahiwal’s Central Prison where dual-murder convict Jaffar was hanged for murdering his relative Khalil and his daughter Sadia in 1997.

Around 60 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 attackers killed over 130 children at Peshawar’s Army Public School in December.

The death penalty moratorium, in force since 2008, was initially lifted only in terrorism cases, but the government extended it to all capital crimes last month.