The nation of Pakistan was so shocked by the murders of 140 children and teachers at a school in the nation’s Peshawar District by Taliban extremists that a prohibition against the death penalty has been waived for the attack.
On December 16 a large force of Taliban militants surrounded a military school in Peshawar, an area close to the border with Afghanistan. The militants killed 132 children and 8 teachers in the attack.
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, approved of a decision by the ministerial committee to lift a moratorium on the death penalty. The government in Islamabad reported that “black warrants” will be issued for the attackers this week.
The death penalty was put on hold in Pakistan in 2008, and since that year only one prisoner has been executed. But some experts report that there are still around 8,000 prisoners on death row. It is also reported that some 17,000 cases of terrorism are pending in the nation’s terrorism special courts.
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