Multan, Pakistan: Pakistan on Wednesday hanged two men sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court, taking the number of executions to nine since the country lifted a moratorium on capital punishment after last month's Taliban school massacre.
The convicts, Ghulam Shabbir and Ahmed Ali (alias Sheesh Naag), were reportedly members of banned sectarian militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
The two were sentenced to death in 2002 by an anti-terrorism court -- Shabbir for killing a senior police official and his driver, and Ali for killing three people.
"Two men convicted for murders, Ghulam Shabbir and Ahmed Ali, were hanged till death today," Saeedullah Gondal, superintendent of the jail where the executions took place, told AFP.
Pakistan last month lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases in the wake of the Taliban's horrific massacre at an army-run school in the city of Peshawar.
Pakistani officials have said they plan to hang 500 convicts in the coming weeks, drawing protest from international human rights campaigners.
The country's notoriously slow civil court procedures often delays justice for years.
Despite the moratorium, which began in 2008, courts continued to issue death sentences and Amnesty International estimates there are around 8,000 people on death row in Pakistan.
Rights campaigners say Pakistan overuses its anti-terror laws and courts to prosecute ordinary crimes.
The convicts, Ghulam Shabbir and Ahmed Ali (alias Sheesh Naag), were reportedly members of banned sectarian militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
The two were sentenced to death in 2002 by an anti-terrorism court -- Shabbir for killing a senior police official and his driver, and Ali for killing three people.
"Two men convicted for murders, Ghulam Shabbir and Ahmed Ali, were hanged till death today," Saeedullah Gondal, superintendent of the jail where the executions took place, told AFP.
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Pakistan last month lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases in the wake of the Taliban's horrific massacre at an army-run school in the city of Peshawar.
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Pakistani officials have said they plan to hang 500 convicts in the coming weeks, drawing protest from international human rights campaigners.
Advertisement
The country's notoriously slow civil court procedures often delays justice for years.
Advertisement
Despite the moratorium, which began in 2008, courts continued to issue death sentences and Amnesty International estimates there are around 8,000 people on death row in Pakistan.
Advertisement
Rights campaigners say Pakistan overuses its anti-terror laws and courts to prosecute ordinary crimes.
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