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UN chief urges Nawaz to halt executions
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UNITED NATIONS: United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged Pakistan to end capital punishment and restore the moratorium on the death penalty the government lifted in terror cases following a militant attack at an army-run school in Peshawar, state media reported on Saturday.
The UN chief spoke with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and expressed his condolences over the slaughter in Peshawar on December 16 that left 150 people dead, including 134 children.
“While fully recognising the difficult circumstances, the UN secretary general urged the government of Pakistan to stop the executions of convicts and re-impose the moratorium on the death penalty,” Ban’s office said in a statement. “Sharif promised that all legal norms would be respected,” the statement added.
The prime minister ended the six-year moratorium on the death penalty, reinstating it for terrorism-related cases, in the wake of the deadliest terror attack in the history of Pakistan.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk