Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - "It is urgent to stop the executioner and not to bring Pakistan back in time. We say 'no' to the execution of the Muslim Shoaib Sarwar, who would be the first civilian after six years, and we ask the government to embark on a path which leads to the abolition of the death penalty": is the appeal entrusted to Fides Agency by Cecil Shane Chaudhry, Executive Director of the National Commission "Justice and Peace" (NCJP) of the Catholic Bishops of Pakistan. As announced by the Pakistani authorities, the execution of man - an inmate sentenced to death in 1998 on charges of murder - is scheduled for tomorrow, September 18 in the prison in Rawalpindi. In the country several associations of civil society such as the "Human Rights Commission of Pakistan," and even NGOs such as Amnesty International, have raised their voice asking the government to stop the executioner, officially confirming a moratorium on the death penalty, step towards the abolition .
Sarwar’s sentence was confirmed after two appeals were rejected in 2003 and 2006 by the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court. The man is on death row. If executed, he would be the first civilian victim since 2008 (in 2012 a soldier was executed). Cecil Shane Chaudhry told Fides: "As Christians we demand the abolition of the death penalty, which is not a useful tool to deter or prevent crime. It is an instrument which affects the dignity of man. In Pakistan many innocent people are in prison and could be killed for miscarriages of justice".
According to Chaudhry, "the government of Nawaz Sharif could somehow be pushed to restore capital punishment under pressure from extremist groups" but civil society is against it. On September 26, a convention organized by the "Human Rights Commission of Pakistan" will be held in Lahore where all the movements against the death penalty will be present, including the NCJP.
According to Amnesty International, "the suspension of executions in force in Pakistan in recent years is one of the few areas of human rights in Pakistan which registers a positive record. The resumption of executions would be a serious regression". In Pakistan, more than 8,000 prisoners are on death row. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 17/09/2014)
