Respite: No executions in Ramazan, says official

ISLAMABAD:

No death row prisoners will be executed during the holy month of Ramazan, a senior interior ministry official said on Saturday.

“It is a tradition not to hang prisoners on important Islamic dates, like the month of Ramazan, Eid days and Youm-e-Ashura,” the official said. “We have never hanged prisoners on these dates. Although we don’t issue an official notification, the home departments of all provinces usually direct the superintendents of jails to uphold this tradition,” he added.

Pakistan has executed more than 152 prisoners on death row after lifting the moratorium on death penalty in the aftermath of last year’s grisly massacre at the Army Public School in Peshawar. The move was criticised by many in the global community.

Most recently, the European Union urged Pakistan to reinstate the moratorium on the death penalty.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2015.