Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the scale of the use and proposed use of the death penalty in Pakistan; and what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan in the context of both human rights and the fight against extremism.

We are concerned about the resumption of capital punishment in Pakistan for terrorism cases. Pakistan has over 8,000 prisoners on death row. It has been reported that 500 of these may be affected by this change but it is not clear if all of these prisoners face execution. It is our longstanding policy to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We fully understand Pakistan’s resolve to protect society from terrorism but there is no conclusive evidence that capital punishment is an effective deterrent. The UK remains opposed to the death penalty in all cases and we have consistently pressed Pakistan on this issue.