Several 'wrongful executions' since lifting of death penalty moratorium: JPP
Moratorium was lifted following the gruesome attack on Army Public School in Peshawar
Moratorium on death penalty was lifted following the gruesome attack on Army Public School in Peshawar. CREATIVE: AAMIR KHAN
Only 16% of the executions carried out since December 2014 were related to terrorism, Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) claimed on Saturday.
The moratorium on death penalty was lifted following the gruesome attack on Peshwar's Army Public School (APS) that left 150 people dead, mostly pupils. The decision to lift the moratorium was taken under the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism.
An analysis of 419 executions two years since the attack revealed significant flaws in the narrative as several of the cases had no link with a terrorist organisation or terrorism, JPP said in a statement.
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The remainder, it further claimed, included several cases of 'wrongful executions' of juveniles, the mentally ill and the physically disabled, contradicting Pakistan’s international legal obligations.
While the government remained adamant that only those convicted of terrorism would be executed, the moratorium for all capital crimes was lifted just three months later in March, 2015. The move was widely projected by the state as the only effective means of fighting terrorism, the statement added.
The NAP had correctly observed that there was a need to “revamp and reform Pakistan’s criminal justice system” but no significant effort has been made to do this so far, it read.
Pakistan carries out more executions despite protests
Pakistan has retained its status of being the third most prolific executioner in the world two years in a row. The faulty legal infrastructure remains inaccessible, corrupt, mired in red tape, beholden to power and usurped by influence and wealth, creating a permissive environment for the routine miscarriage of justice, the statement read.
The moratorium on death penalty was lifted following the gruesome attack on Peshwar's Army Public School (APS) that left 150 people dead, mostly pupils. The decision to lift the moratorium was taken under the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism.
An analysis of 419 executions two years since the attack revealed significant flaws in the narrative as several of the cases had no link with a terrorist organisation or terrorism, JPP said in a statement.
Army chief signs death warrants of 13 terrorists
The remainder, it further claimed, included several cases of 'wrongful executions' of juveniles, the mentally ill and the physically disabled, contradicting Pakistan’s international legal obligations.
While the government remained adamant that only those convicted of terrorism would be executed, the moratorium for all capital crimes was lifted just three months later in March, 2015. The move was widely projected by the state as the only effective means of fighting terrorism, the statement added.
The NAP had correctly observed that there was a need to “revamp and reform Pakistan’s criminal justice system” but no significant effort has been made to do this so far, it read.
Pakistan carries out more executions despite protests
Pakistan has retained its status of being the third most prolific executioner in the world two years in a row. The faulty legal infrastructure remains inaccessible, corrupt, mired in red tape, beholden to power and usurped by influence and wealth, creating a permissive environment for the routine miscarriage of justice, the statement read.