An unjust penalty
TODAY, Dec 17, 2019, marks five years since the moratorium on the death penalty was lifted in Pakistan, following the tragic killing of over 130 children at the Army Public School in Peshawar in 2014.
The moratorium, which lasted close to seven years, had placed Pakistan firmly on the path to abolition, following a global trend that has seen more countries abolishing the death penalty with each passing year. But today, sadly, Pakistan has not only rejoined the ranks of retentionist countries but is one of the highest executioners in the world.
By mid-2017, Pakistan had awarded capital punishment to more than 450 people since the end of the moratorium, placing it among the top five biggest executioners in the world.
Yet, despite political rhetoric that claims executions are a deterrent for crime, the record shows that is far from the truth. And while it may be too early to ask Pakistan to declare itself abolitionist, at the very least, it is time for it to initiate a new moratorium, if only because there is a solid case for doing so.
Despite thousands of convictions and death sentences over the past five years, there is no conclusive evidence that capital punishment has reduced incidents of terrorism or that they have deterred other forms of crime.
In at least one case of child abuse and murder in the small town of Kasur in the heart of Punjab, the accused was caught, tried and hanged in less than a year - a speedy process by any standard, and one aimed at deterring such crimes. And yet more such crimes have come to light since then, clearly disproving that theory.
Five years since executions were resumed, it's time for reforms in the criminal justice system.
Meanwhile, civil society has repeatedly highlighted the myriad problems in the criminal justice system. As our organisations demonstrated in a report published earlier this year, the flaws are present at all levels of the system: investigations, prosecutions and trials are undertaken in such a way that they increase the chance of innocent people being caught up in the system.
Unfair trials, the lack of legal aid, the prevalent use of torture in custody, and the continued imposition of capital punishment on juveniles and the mentally disabled, in blatant disregard of both domestic and international law and standards, paint a sad picture for Pakistan.
The work of our organisations and many others is backed by data that highlights the systematic and widespread nature of these issues. A study published by Reprieve and the Foundation for Fundamental Rights in March examined Supreme Court jurisprudence in capital cases from 2010 to 2018, with eye-opening findings.
The study found that the Supreme Court was increasingly overturning convictions or ordering a review in a majority of death sentences: 78pc of cases for the whole period studied, and 83pc of cases from 2015 to the end of 2018, including a staggering 97pc in 2018.
Over and again, the Supreme Court has ruled that the evidence produced in capital cases was not sufficient; that procedural errors had been present at all stages of the investigation and trial, and that the burden of proof had not been reached. Furthermore, the study found that the Supreme Court was upholding the death penalty only for lethal offences. Yet Pakistani laws still include an astounding 32 crimes that are punishable by death, the great majority of which fail to meet the "most serious crimes" threshold mandated by international law.
This data leads us to one conclusion: the criminal justice system in Pakistan is too flawed to continue implementing the death penalty. Regardless of where we stand on the issue of abolition, we can all agree that executing innocent people cannot be accepted.
The government must prioritise a substantial reform of the criminal justice system to guarantee fair trial rights and address issues that have been reported time and time again.
These steps are necessary both for Pakistan's credibility internationally and to develop a criminal justice system that is fair to all and actually effective in deterring crime.
Five years after the Army Public School tragedy, the country as well as society is better placed to engage itself in a productive debate on the future of capital punishment. That debate must happen now.
That is the way forward for the next five years: to ensure there is space for a real debate on the question of abolition, on the public stage, and to include a diverse set of voices in those discussions.
We strongly believe that there already is enough evidence to put a moratorium in place; it is time to include the public at large in this debate in a cool, rational way.