Pakistan hangs two prisoners following reversal of self-imposed moratorium on death penalty

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today hanged two death-row prisoners, taking to 68 the number of executions since the country reversed the self-imposed moratorium on the death penalty in December despite criticism by the rights group.

Both the hangings were carried out in Punjab province. The latest executions bring to 68 the number of convicts hanged 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 the government decided to implement death penalty in all cases following the Peshawar school massacre in December.

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.