In Pakistan, the Sindh High Court orders the release of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, initially sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl in Karachi in 2002. The government opposes his release on the basis of public safety; both the government and Pearl's family will appeal the decision. 2020-12-24
A court in Lahore, Pakistan, sentences a Christian man to death for sending a "blasphemous" message to his former supervisor at work in 2013. The defendant said that his supervisor had tried to convert him to Islam, which he refused to do. The court rejected his testimony. 2020-09-8
Pakistan blocks Bigo Live and threatens a similar move with the app TikTok over "immoral, obscene and vulgar" content. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority says in a statement that the two platforms could have "extremely negative effects on the society in general and youth in particular", without elaborating. 2020-07-21
The Lahore High Court, in Punjab, Pakistan, says the death sentence verdict against former ruler Pervez Musharraf last month is unconstitutional, casting into doubt the legitimacy of the verdict. 2020-01-13
A court in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan, sentences university professor Junaid Hafeez to death for blasphemy – verbal and on Facebook. 2019-12-21
Former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf is sentenced to death "in absentia" for high treason, by a 2-1 majority. He is described as a dictator who seized power in a 1999 coup, imposed a 2007 state of emergency and resigned in 2008 to avoid impeachment. 2019-12-17
An Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore, Pakistan, sentences Imran Ali to death, for the rape and murder of 7-year-old Zainab Ansari. The victim's family demands Ali's hanging to be conducted in public. 2018-02-17
Following the December 17 announcement that it would lift its moratorium on terror-related death penalty cases, Pakistan announces that it will execute 500 militants in the coming weeks. 2014-12-22
Pakistan lifts the moratorium on the death penalty for terror-related cases following the Taliban's assault on a school in Peshawar on Tuesday that killed 141, including 132 children. 2014-12-17