Yes, Pakistan has a moratorium on executions since 2008, when will Malaysia follow suit? And the new government is continuing with it
“Pakistan has decided to continue with the moratorium on capital punishment since the government is aware of its international commitments and is following them,” said Omar Hamid Khan, an interior ministry spokesman.- Dawn.com, 3/10/2013, Pakistan to continue moratorium on capital punishment
Last-minute LHC ruling stays Shoaib’s execution
ISLAMABAD: Shoaib Sarwar survived a close call with death sentence after Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi bench, ruled to stay the sessions court decision of 1998.
Shoaib had murdered Qais Nawaz on January 21, 1996. Shoaib is among 8,500 other criminals on death row in Pakistan, by far the world’s largest number of such inmates in the world.
The previous PPP government decided to adopt a moratorium on death sentence despite opposition from various state institutions.
The government, according the LHC verdict issued today, did not respond adequately on the issue of Shoaib’s sentence. Thus, the court’s Rawalpindi Bench - Justice Mahmood Maqbool Bajwa and Justice Aalia Neelum – Tuesday granted a stay of execution on the death sentence.
In sync with the previous policy, the government had announced a moratorium in 2013 to respect Pakistan’s international commitments and requirements for the much-coveted EU GSP+ trade status. Sources in the interior ministry say that the PMLN government may have to lift the moratorium to execute Taliban extremists on death row. There’s, however, no official word from the government on the issue of death penalty.
The bench was told that Shoaib was party to a petition for the abolition of the death penalty before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and that any execution order handed out by the High Court cannot be acted upon till the matter remains with the apex court. Shoaib Sarwar also has a mercy petition pending in the office of the President of Pakistan.- Daily Times, 17/9/2014, Last-minute LHC ruling stays Shoaib’s execution
Pakistan suspends execution of Shoaib Sarwar
Pakistan called off the scheduled hanging of Shoaib
Sarwar convicted on murder charges in what would have been the first
execution of a civilian in six years, officials said on Wednesday.
Shoaib,
convicted in 1998, was ordered to be hanged at Adiyala Prison in
Rawalpindi city on Thursday, drawing outrage from national and
international rights groups.
Officials said the execution also endangered a lucrative trade deal with the European Union.
A court on Tuesday ordered the hanging postponed for a month, a prison official said on condition of anonymity.- The Hindu, 17/9/2014, Pakistan suspends execution of Shoaib Sarwar
Pakistan to continue moratorium on capital punishment
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has scrapped plans to reinstate the
death penalty, the government said on Thursday, following threats by
Taliban militants to step up attacks in retaliation.
A 2008 moratorium on capital punishment imposed by Pakistan's previous government expired on June 30 and the country had been due to execute two jailed militants in August — a plan described by the Pakistani Taliban as an act of war.
“Pakistan has decided to continue with the moratorium on capital punishment since the government is aware of its international commitments and is following them,” said Omar Hamid Khan, an interior ministry spokesman.
The new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had originally said it wanted to reinstate the death penalty in a bid to crack down on criminals and militants in a move strongly criticised by international human rights groups.
In this respect, in August, the government had decided to hang four convicts on death row. The four prisoners, including two members of the banned sectarian outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ), were scheduled to be executed at the Sukkur jail and Karachi Central prison on August 20, 21 and 22.
However, a temporary stay was ordered on these executions following objections from then president Asif Ali Zardari and rights groups.
Up to 8,000 people presently languish on death row in dozens of Pakistan's overcrowded and violent jails.
Pakistan's moratorium drew praise because of concerns its courts and police were too inept to ensure the accused a fair trial. Pakistan did, however, break its own rules in 2012 when it executed a convicted murderer and a former army serviceman. - Dawn.com, 3/10/2013, Pakistan to continue moratorium on capital punishment
A 2008 moratorium on capital punishment imposed by Pakistan's previous government expired on June 30 and the country had been due to execute two jailed militants in August — a plan described by the Pakistani Taliban as an act of war.
“Pakistan has decided to continue with the moratorium on capital punishment since the government is aware of its international commitments and is following them,” said Omar Hamid Khan, an interior ministry spokesman.
The new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had originally said it wanted to reinstate the death penalty in a bid to crack down on criminals and militants in a move strongly criticised by international human rights groups.
In this respect, in August, the government had decided to hang four convicts on death row. The four prisoners, including two members of the banned sectarian outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ), were scheduled to be executed at the Sukkur jail and Karachi Central prison on August 20, 21 and 22.
However, a temporary stay was ordered on these executions following objections from then president Asif Ali Zardari and rights groups.
Up to 8,000 people presently languish on death row in dozens of Pakistan's overcrowded and violent jails.
Pakistan's moratorium drew praise because of concerns its courts and police were too inept to ensure the accused a fair trial. Pakistan did, however, break its own rules in 2012 when it executed a convicted murderer and a former army serviceman. - Dawn.com, 3/10/2013, Pakistan to continue moratorium on capital punishment
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