PAKISTAN: PRESIDENT REJECTS MERCY APPEAL OF 17 DEATH PENALTY CONVICTS

President Mamnoon Hussain rejected appeal to mercy of 17 criminals convicted for death penalty.
Out of those 17 convicted for terrorism, 10 belong to Punjab, six from Sindh and one from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The execution is expected to be carried soon, Dawn has learnt.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had lifted moratorium on death penalty for those convicted for terrorism after a deadly attack on Army Public School in Peshawar left more than 130 children dead on Dec 16.
Addressing an All Parties Conference, the premier had announced that the moratorium on death penalty, which was imposed under international pressure, has been lifted.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed provisional and federal governments to submit their para-wise comments by January 9, 2015, regarding inmates who were convicted on terrorism charges and are currently on death row.
Judicial Activism Panel Chairman Mohammad Azhar Siddique filed an application a day before, in which he asked the court to direct the federal and provisional governments in the process of issuing death warrants for those convicted for terrorism, and are currently on death row.
Siddique in his application also sought answers to questions as to why it was taking so long for the death warrants to be issued and why were some cases still pending.