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| Pakistani Premier Calls for Fast-Tracking Executions of Militants | Pakistani Premier Calls for Fast-Tracking Executions of Militants |
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| ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed his top legal officer on Monday to fast-track the execution of militants on Pakistan’s death row, amid a continuing public clamor for a tough response to last week’s Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar. | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed his top legal officer on Monday to fast-track the execution of militants on Pakistan’s death row, amid a continuing public clamor for a tough response to last week’s Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar. |
| Mr. Sharif issued the order after local courts in several Pakistani cities halted the planned execution of at least seven convicted militants, officials said. | Mr. Sharif issued the order after local courts in several Pakistani cities halted the planned execution of at least seven convicted militants, officials said. |
| Mr. Sharif ended a six-year moratorium on capital punishment for convicted militants in the hours after last week’s Taliban assault on the Army Public School. At least 148 people, 132 of them children, were killed in the eight-hour attack. | Mr. Sharif ended a six-year moratorium on capital punishment for convicted militants in the hours after last week’s Taliban assault on the Army Public School. At least 148 people, 132 of them children, were killed in the eight-hour attack. |
| Since then six people have been executed by hanging, most of whom were convicted for their part in an assassination attempt against the former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 2003. | Since then six people have been executed by hanging, most of whom were convicted for their part in an assassination attempt against the former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 2003. |
| An additional 63 prisoners are on death row for terrorism charges, according to the Interior Ministry. “Their executions will take place in phases,” said a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. | An additional 63 prisoners are on death row for terrorism charges, according to the Interior Ministry. “Their executions will take place in phases,” said a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. |
| The executions are a response to public outrage over the Taliban massacre. But human rights groups and the United Nations have come out against them, warning that innocent people could be put to death as a result of Pakistan’s notoriously weak judicial system. | The executions are a response to public outrage over the Taliban massacre. But human rights groups and the United Nations have come out against them, warning that innocent people could be put to death as a result of Pakistan’s notoriously weak judicial system. |
| The case of Shafqat Hussain, a prisoner who was sentenced to death at the age of 14 and could soon face execution, illustrates the problem, campaigners say. | The case of Shafqat Hussain, a prisoner who was sentenced to death at the age of 14 and could soon face execution, illustrates the problem, campaigners say. |
| Mr. Hussain is accused of kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old child in 2004 while working as a guard at an apartment building in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital. Mr. Hussain says he confessed to murder only after being tortured by the police during nine days of interrogation, according to the Justice Project Pakistan, a law firm specializing in human rights cases that is representing him. | Mr. Hussain is accused of kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old child in 2004 while working as a guard at an apartment building in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital. Mr. Hussain says he confessed to murder only after being tortured by the police during nine days of interrogation, according to the Justice Project Pakistan, a law firm specializing in human rights cases that is representing him. |
| During a court hearing in Karachi on Monday, a High Court judge asked the government to explain why Mr. Hussain was on the list of death-row militants. | During a court hearing in Karachi on Monday, a High Court judge asked the government to explain why Mr. Hussain was on the list of death-row militants. |
| Mr. Hussain’s murder charge was reduced to manslaughter on appeal, but the terrorism charges against him stuck. Under Pakistani law, any crime that creates “a sense of fear or insecurity in society” can be classified as a terrorist offense. | |
| “We are dying inside,” said Mr. Hussain’s brother Manzoor, during a phone interview from Muzaffarabad, in Pakistani Kashmir. | “We are dying inside,” said Mr. Hussain’s brother Manzoor, during a phone interview from Muzaffarabad, in Pakistani Kashmir. |
| Zohra Yusuf, chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said that Mr. Hussain should have been tried as a juvenile. “Kidnapping and murder are crimes,” she said. “But this man was not involved in terrorism in the sense that Taliban militants are.” | Zohra Yusuf, chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said that Mr. Hussain should have been tried as a juvenile. “Kidnapping and murder are crimes,” she said. “But this man was not involved in terrorism in the sense that Taliban militants are.” |
| On Monday, a court in Rawalpindi stayed the execution of five men convicted of involvement in an attack on an army camp in Gujrat, a city in Punjab Province. That order, and a similar one in Karachi, caused embarrassment to the government. Prime Minister Sharif directed the attorney general, Salman Aslam Butt, to take steps to “vacate stay orders against death penalties,” his spokesman said. | On Monday, a court in Rawalpindi stayed the execution of five men convicted of involvement in an attack on an army camp in Gujrat, a city in Punjab Province. That order, and a similar one in Karachi, caused embarrassment to the government. Prime Minister Sharif directed the attorney general, Salman Aslam Butt, to take steps to “vacate stay orders against death penalties,” his spokesman said. |
| “The government is determined to eliminate terrorism from the country,” the spokesman said. | “The government is determined to eliminate terrorism from the country,” the spokesman said. |
| In Islamabad, rights activists continued their protests against Maulana Abdul Aziz, a conservative pro-Taliban cleric at the city’s Red Mosque, which has been a focus of extreme Islamist thought. | In Islamabad, rights activists continued their protests against Maulana Abdul Aziz, a conservative pro-Taliban cleric at the city’s Red Mosque, which has been a focus of extreme Islamist thought. |
| Jibran Nasir has been one such vocal critic, and since last week has spearheaded a campaign to have Mr. Aziz arrested on charges of terrorism. On Monday, dozens of protesters marched toward a police station to press the police to take action against Mr. Aziz. “Who is the enemy of Pakistan?” shouted one woman. “Taliban! Taliban!” responded the crowd. | Jibran Nasir has been one such vocal critic, and since last week has spearheaded a campaign to have Mr. Aziz arrested on charges of terrorism. On Monday, dozens of protesters marched toward a police station to press the police to take action against Mr. Aziz. “Who is the enemy of Pakistan?” shouted one woman. “Taliban! Taliban!” responded the crowd. |
| It was a much smaller protest, however, than demonstrations late last week. Mr. Nasir, the main organizer, said he had received a threatening phone call a day earlier from a man who claimed to be a Taliban spokesman. | It was a much smaller protest, however, than demonstrations late last week. Mr. Nasir, the main organizer, said he had received a threatening phone call a day earlier from a man who claimed to be a Taliban spokesman. |
| Mr. Nasir released a recording of the phone conversation on social media on Monday. The police assured the protesters that they would investigate the complaints against the cleric. | Mr. Nasir released a recording of the phone conversation on social media on Monday. The police assured the protesters that they would investigate the complaints against the cleric. |
| “We can come back if police doesn’t make the arrest,” Mr. Nasir told the protesters before they wound up their demonstration. | “We can come back if police doesn’t make the arrest,” Mr. Nasir told the protesters before they wound up their demonstration. |