Pakistan: Bloodbath on Death Row?

[mota bhai 2,675]

In 2008, in one of his first speeches after taking office, former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called for converting all death penalties into life sentences.

Legislation in this regard was never introduced but the outgoing president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, used his constitutional powers to institute a moratorium on all executions, stating that since the government was formulating legislation, the hangings needed to be put on hold.

But the PPP lost power in general elections this May, and Nawaz Sharif, who heads his own faction in the Pakistan Muslim League, emerged victorious. Now prime minister, Sharif has shown no interest in continuing the moratorium.

Originally, executions in Pakistan were to resume end of August, but on August 18, following threats from the Taliban of attacks on elected officials if the government were to execute any Taliban operatives on death row, the government announced that it would continue the stay on executions until President Asif Ali Zardari returned from abroad.

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However Zardari's term in office ends on September 6, leaving the fate of the inmates solely in the hands of the Nawaz government, which has shown no signs of changing its stance on resuming the hangings.

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[A] lawyer who runs a non-profit law firm that tackles human rights cases, says the government plans to hang four hundred prisoners including her client, by the end of this year.

“There is going to be a bloodbath in Pakistani jails in the coming months because the government believes in this narrative that somehow executions can solve the prevailing terrorism issue in the country. But most death row prisoners are not even terrorists,” explains the lawyer.

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Pakistan is among the world’s leaders in the handing down of death penalties. According to independent estimates, there are more than 8000 prisoners on death row, and international human rights bodies like the Amnesty International have appealed to the Pakistani government to keep the moratorium in place.

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For the last ten years, Sabir Masih has been the hangman in Lahore. He anticipates that he will be getting busy again soon.

“There was a gap of five years since the president had suspended the hangings. I would go to work and basically do nothing. But now we are expecting around four to five hangings a day to take place since there are so many death row prisoners,” says Masih in an interview conducted in a graveyard near his house, where he and his friends hang out after work.

It may seem ironic that Masih—a third-generation executioner—chooses to be surrounded by death, even when he is unwinding. But he insists he is not seeking comfort. “I grew up witnessing hangings so I have no fear. My uncle used to take me to the jail from a very young age.”

Masih explains how an execution takes place: “The prisoner is brought in from his cell usually very early in the morning around dawn. When he gets to the gallows, he is handed over to me. I tie his hands first and then place a hood over his head. Then I put the noose around his neck and tighten the rope. Finally, I tell him to pray but not out loud – only in his heart. Then I pull the lever.”

Masih says not much goes on in his head when carrying out the execution. “The first time it was difficult but now I have hanged more than 200 prisoners so I am pretty comfortable. Moreover, I have nothing personal against the person. There is no enmity or anything so I do not feel anything. I am just carrying out orders of the jail authorities.”

Taha Siddiqui is an investigative journalist working with various local and international media outlets focusing on terrorism, politics and minority issues in the country. He tweets @TahaSSiddiqui

*Not his real name. Certain other identifying information has been altered.

http://thediplomat.com/2013/08/28/pakistan-bloodbath-on-death-row/?all=true