To commemorate the sanctity of Ramazan, prison authorities were directed, on Monday, to not carry out executions during the month.
In addition to the temporary suspension, President Arif Alvi is also expected to grant presidential pardons to those serving death sentences over the course of Ramazan.
Earlier in 2008, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government had imposed a moratorium on capital punishment during its tenure. However, the moratorium was lifted by its successor Nawaz Sharif when he came into power through an executive order in the wake of the 2014 terror attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar.
In January 2015, this decision was endorsed by the parliament through the 21st Constitutional Amendment. According to which, military courts were established for speedy trials in terrorist offences as well as acts threatening the security of Pakistan.
President Alvi expected to grant presidential pardons
The legislation was a part of the National Action Plan; a comprehensive strategy to deal with the menace of terrorism.
Since then, over 500 prisoners have been executed in Pakistan. The overwhelming number accounted for 13 per cent of the total executions carried out around the world between 2015 and 2017.
At present, there remain 289 death row prisoners at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi; including 12 women who have challenged the death penalty in apex and high courts.
At least 18 of the death row prisoners are awaiting a decision on clemency pleas.
A non-profit, human rights law firm, Justice Project Pakistan, claimed in its report “Counting the Condemned,” that Pakistan had sentenced 4,500 people to death and executed nearly 821 over the last 14 years.
The Supreme Court was said to have overturned 85 per cent of the death sentences during appeals in the last three years.
According to a military tally, the federal government had referred 717 cases to military courts this year, of which 546 were decided.
A total of 310 terrorists were awarded the death penalty while another 234 were awarded rigorous imprisonment of durations ranging from life imprisonment to five years in jail. Two cases were acquitted.
56 condemned prisoners were said to have been executed after the verdict by the top judiciary followed by the rejection of clemency appeals by the president and the army chief.
It may be pertinent to mention here that Article 10 (a) of the Constitution of Pakistan grants every citizen the right to a fair trial while Article 185 (2) (a) allows the court to award capital punishment to an individual found guilty of any crimes punishable by death according to the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Moreover, PPC calls as many as 27 offences “punishable by death.”
These include blasphemy (295-C of PPC); high treason (Section 2 of the High Treason Act, 1973); murder (Section 301 of PPC); hijacking (Section 402-B, C of PPC); waging or abetting war against Pakistan (Section 121 of PPC); Rape (Section 6 of the Zina Ordinance, 1979); adultery (Section 5 of the Offence of Zina Ordinance, 1979); mutiny and subordination (Section 31 of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952); abetment of mutiny (Section 132 of PPC); offences in relation to enemy, treachery, mutiny, and cowardice (Section 24 of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952), arms trading (Section 13-A(1) of the Pakistan Arms (Amendment) Ordinance, 1996), giving up military passwords, intentionally using unassigned military passwords (Section 26 of the Pakistan Army Act); stripping a woman’s clothes (Section 354-A of PPC), abduction to subject someone to unnatural lust (Section 12 of the Offence of Zina Ordinance, 1979); kidnapping or abduction of minor (Section 364-A of PPC); kidnapping for ransom or extortion (Section 365-A of PPC); importing, exporting into and from Pakistan dangerous drugs (Section 13 of the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930); importing, exporting inter-provincially or manufacturing drugs (Section 14 of the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930); drugs smuggling (Section 9 of the Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997); gang rape (Section 10(4) of the Offence of Zina Ordinance, 1979); sabotage of the railways system (Section 127 of the Railways (Amended) Act, 1995); Haraabah (Section 15 of the Offences Against Property Ordinance, 1979); scheduled offence likely to create terror or disrupt sectarian harmony (Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997); aggravated murder (Section 302 of PPC); robbery resulting in death (Section 396 of PPC) and Bearing false witness intending or knowing the accused may be convicted of a capital offence, if an innocent person is convicted and executed as a result (Section 194 of PPC).