PAKISTAN. RECENT EXECUTIONS ‘BRUTAL’, HRCP

the director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said the number of recent executions carried out in Punjab province is "brutal". Rehman told the BBC News website that 37 people had been hanged in 2006 in Punjab alone compared with 52 people country-wide for all of 2005.
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said decisions as to who should be executed and when were solely the responsibilities of the courts.
"We have not accelerated the process and it is just a coincidence that eight people have been hanged over the last three days," he said.
Rehman said that the high number of hangings could be linked to the government's drive to reduce over-crowding on death row.
"The sad fact is that the increased number of executions have not really raised eyebrows or generated many public complaints," he said.
"Pakistan has become a brutalized society where people are exposed to killings on an almost daily basis."
"The tragedy is that many people who have been hanged or are on death row have not received fair trials," he said.
"They are often the victims of feudal vendettas that take place in parts of Pakistan on a regular basis.
"Furthermore they are often convicted by courts or judicial tribunals which are not impartial and where police evidence is insufficient."
Figures released by the HRCP show that some people sentenced to death can wait up to 15 years in jail before their sentence is either commuted or they are hanged.
"In contrast people accused of terrorist offences - such as attempting to kill the president or a senior member of the establishment - can be sentenced and hanged within two years," Rehman said.