Pakistan hangs eight for murder

The executions -- including of two sets of brothers -- took place in four cities in Punjab

MULTAN: Pakistan on Tuesday hanged at least eight men for murder, officials said, bringing the total number of people executed since it lifted a moratorium on the death penalty to more than 230 since December.

The executions -- including of two sets of brothers -- took place in four cities in the central province of Punjab: Attock, Gujrat, Multan and Bahawalpur.

Read: In the last six months, Pakistan has executed more people than Saudi Arabia

Two brothers, Mohammad Azam and Mohammad Aslam, were hanged in Gujrat; while another two brothers, Ghulam Qadir and Ghulam Sarwar, were executed in Bahawalpur for murdering two relatives, prison officials said.

Double murder convict Muhammad Ashraf was hanged in Attock, two men were executed in Multan, and the eighth was also hanged in Bahawalpur, the officials said.

Read: Government hangs 12 convicts in largest execution since moratorium lifted

Pakistan ended its six-year moratorium on executions after Taliban militants massacred more than 150 people -- mostly children -- at a school in Peshawar last December.

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

But critics say the legal system is unjust, with rampant police torture, poor representation for victims and unfair trials.