4 militants executed in Pakistan

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan

Another four “hardcore” militants, sentenced by military courts for their involvement in terrorism, have been executed at a jail in northwestern Pakistan, an army spokesman said on Wednesday.

The militants were convicted for committing heinous offenses relating to terrorism, including the killing of innocent civilians, attacking armed forces and mosques, according to the spokesman.

The executed convicts Qaisar Khan, Mohammed Umar, Qari Zubair, and Aziz Khan were members of the Pakistani Taliban coalition, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Pakistan established controversial military courts to try "hardcore" militants following a deadly gun-and-bomb attack on an army-run school in Peshawar in December 2014, which claimed the lives of over 140 people, mostly students.

The military courts, which were given a two-year extension by parliament in March, have sentenced 161 militants to death, over 30 of whom have been executed.

Islamabad lifted a six-year long de facto ban on capital punishment in 2014 following the Peshawar school attack.

According to official statistics, over 8,000 death row convicts are currently in jail.

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan

Another four “hardcore” militants, sentenced by military courts for their involvement in terrorism, have been executed at a jail in northwestern Pakistan, an army spokesman said on Wednesday.

The militants were convicted for committing heinous offenses relating to terrorism, including the killing of innocent civilians, attacking armed forces and mosques, according to the spokesman.

The executed convicts Qaisar Khan, Mohammed Umar, Qari Zubair, and Aziz Khan were members of the Pakistani Taliban coalition, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The military courts, which were given a two-year extension by parliament in March, have sentenced 161 militants to death, over 30 of whom have been executed.

Islamabad lifted a six-year long de facto ban on capital punishment in 2014 following the Peshawar school attack.

According to official statistics, over 8,000 death row convicts are currently in jail.