Pakistan hangs nine more prisoners, number of executions stand at 48

Pakistan on yesterday executed 12 prisoners convicted under militancy and murder charges, the highest number of hangings in a single day after the government lifted the six-year-long moratorium on capital punishment.

The latest executions increased the number of convicts hung to 48 since Pakistan resumed executions on December 17, a day after a Taliban attack on an army school in Peshawar that killed more than 150 people, mostly children.

There are more than 8,000 death-row prisoners in the country. Initially executions were limited to terrorism offences but on March 10 government decided to extend it to all capital offences. The moratorium on executions had been in place since a democratic government took power from a military ruler in 2008.

Supporters of the execution argue that it is the only option to deal with the scourge of militancy, but human rights group are highly critical of it. Rights groups say many convictions are highly unreliable in Pakistan where criminal justice system barely functions and torture has often been used to extract confessions.