Daily Times

I have two strong arguments opposing the death penalty: the right to life cannot be forfeited and the rope is not a social saviour. The death penalty can be awarded in Pakistan on 27 counts. At the time of the bloodied partition of Hindustan, the country had three death penalty crimes. Over a period of 60 years, the number of death penalty crimes has been increased in Pakistan, which is alarming. When countries over the world are abolishing the death penalty sentence from their criminal justice system, the scene in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan is very similar and different from the rest of the world; furthermore, a fair segment of the population backs the existence of the death penalty in the criminal justice system.

Recently, Amnesty International published its report, titled ‘Death Sentences and Executions 2013’, which revealed the facts and figures pertaining to the execution of the death penalty in the world. The report revealed that Pakistan has the highest number of death sentences issued among the countries featured in the report. The report considered the judicial use of the death penalty from January to December 2013, using records and figures of countries that have not abolished the barbarian and cruel sentence of the death penalty. The scope of the report is narrowed because in many countries, like North Korea and China, facts and figures on executions are not available for they are considered ‘state secrets’. The report noted that 8,500 death row inmates are languishing in the violent and dirty jails of Pakistan, and the number swells as the judiciary hands down one death penalty after another. This is good and appreciable, I believe. Furthermore, the report revealed that 226 people were sentenced to death last year.

It is also noteworthy that despite the worrying aspect of the death penalty in Pakistan, the report by Amnesty International said that last year in Pakistan not a single execution had been carried out but to the contrary in India and Bangladesh some executions were carried out. I would like to mention that the ex-president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, had placed a five-year moratorium on executions in 2008, which was much appreciated by the leading countries and human rights bodies. However, the hiatus was interrupted in November 2012 when the military executed a soldier who was found guilty of murder. Since then, no one has been sent to the gallows after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif once again suspended the use of the death penalty even after the moratorium expired in June last year. When the new government took charge last year, Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif retained the suspension on execution, which was welcomed by human rights bodies across Pakistan and abroad; for a while it looked as if PM Nawaz was moving to resume executions on a full scale. There are still concerns existing in Pakistan as it has the world’s largest population of death row inmates languishing in violent jails. One can face the death penalty for non-lethal crimes, for instance blasphemy and drugs trafficking. It is not out of place to mention that as long as the death penalty exists on the books the prisoners in the jails of Pakistan are at risk.

The modern and advanced capitalist country of the UK abolished capital punishment for murder in 1964 and in 1998 abolished it for all offences, introducing the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. Now in the UK a reasonable section of society demands the reinstatement of capital punishment for intentional murder, which seems impossible for the 21st century. The fact is that the movement against capital punishment had its origins over 100 years ago in efforts aimed at replacing the medieval concept of retributive justice with reformative justice. Thus, in 1863, Venezuela became the first country in the world to abolish capital punishment. There are 62 countries in the world that still maintain the death penalty, while 92 countries have abolished it completely. Ten countries retain it, but only for crimes committed during war. I further contend that the death penalty undermines human dignity and there is no conclusive evidence available that it deters crime. The miscarriage of justice leading to its imposition is irreversible and irreparable.

The abolitionist movement has made remarkable strides in moving the death penalty debate beyond arguments of sovereignty; it has established that the death penalty, however administered, is a repressive tool of the criminal justice system and violates internationally accepted human rights standards of the right to life.

While all stakeholders in the international community should continue their collective and sustained efforts, it is important to remember that political will and the leadership of the government and its parliamentarians remain pivotal in abolishing the remnants of colonial barbarism, and in entrenching a justice system that is civilised and reformative. South African judge Justice Chaskalson, in his historic opinion banning the death penalty in his country, remarked, “The right to life and dignity are the most important of all human rights…and this must be demonstrated by the state in everything it does, including the way it punishes criminals.”

The writer is a High Court advocate. He can be reached at greenlaw123@hotmail.com