Pakistan has executed at least one person a day for 11 months

Pakistan has executed 311 people since December 2014 when the death penalty was reintroduced, according to Ekklesia.

Excluding religious holidays, during which no executions take place, Pakistan's own records show that the country has executed at least one person a day for the last eleven months.

An anonymous Interior Ministry official said the country's total for hangings "now stands at 311" since December last year.

This number has been revealed two weeks after the Pakistani government said they have some 6,000 people on death row in their country. Pakistan's death row is believed to be the largest in the world.

However, this figure is 2,000 less than the 8,000 the Interior Ministry gave as an estimate at the beginning of the year.

Only 16, less than 0.6 per cent, of those executed since December had known links to terrorist organisations according to Reprieve, a legal and human rights organisation which has collated all the publically available data.

There is substantiated concern that many of those on the country's death row were sentenced after unfair trials, as police torture and forced confessions are common in Pakistan.

There is also a fear that many of those who have been executed were under 18 at time of conviction, as more than 73 per cent of births are unregistered in Pakistan. A known example of this is the killing of Aftab Bahadur, who was 15 when he was arrested for a crime that all eye witnesses claim he was innocent of.

"The Pakistani government has no idea how many people it has on its death row, let alone how many are innocent or were sentenced to death as children," said Maya Foa, the head of the death penalty team at Reprieve.

She told Ekklesia: "It is appalling that the authorities are proceeding with executions at this rate. If they continue to execute one person a day, by the end of next year they will have killed nearly a thousand people – among whom there will almost certainly be a large number of juveniles, and innocent people tortured into 'confessing' to crimes they didn't commit. This senseless massacre will not make Pakistan any safer, and must be stopped."

related articles
One year on: Fanatics who murdered Christian couple in brick kiln \'burned all humanity\'
One year on: Fanatics who murdered Christian couple in brick kiln 'burned all humanity'

On the first anniversary Shama and Shahzad Masih's death, who were burnt alive in a brick kiln by a mob who suspected them of blasphemy in Pakistan, the NGO which cares for their children spoke out.

8-year-old Christian girl beaten by headmistress for using wrong toilet in Pakistan
8-year-old Christian girl beaten by headmistress for using wrong toilet in Pakistan

An 8-year-old Christian girl was allegedly scolded, beaten and locked in a school bathroom by her headteacher after she used a toilet designated for Muslims, according to Pakistan Today.

Christian teen raped, forcibly converted and married to Muslim man
Christian teen raped, forcibly converted and married to Muslim man

A Christian girl has been raped, forcibly converted to Islam and married to a Muslim man in Pakistan.

News
Faith in difficult times: lessons from 1930s Britain
Faith in difficult times: lessons from 1930s Britain

Architectural historian Steven Brindle talks to Christian Today about the faith that shaped 1930s Britain, the churches that supported struggling communities and what lessons the decade might have for us today.

Campaign aims to mobilise 500,000 Christians for Christmas outreach
Campaign aims to mobilise 500,000 Christians for Christmas outreach

Shine Your Light is aiming to mobilise half a million Christians to share the gospel with five million people across the UK this Christmas, with more than 2,000 churches already signed up, organisers say.

The Church of England should repent for previous calls to ban 'conversion therapy'
The Church of England should repent for previous calls to ban 'conversion therapy'

The Church of England's uneasiness about the government's ‘conversion practices’ bill is a perfect lesson in the old adage, 'be careful what you wish for,' writes Dr Martin Davie.

Leaked Home Office report links 'Christian extremism' to traditionalist beliefs and immigration concerns
Leaked Home Office report links 'Christian extremism' to traditionalist beliefs and immigration concerns

An internal Home Office report lists concerns about immigration, multiculturalism and changing social values among the characteristics associated with what it calls "Christian extremism", it has been reported.