--- description: The country's death penalty was reinstated in December and broadened to non-terrorism crimes a week ago title: Pakistan Hangs 12 Men in Largest Execution in 7 Years image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta0c716570b07d6d8/698783e43c1639a2464524b2/456992412.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Pakistan](/tag/pakistan/) ## Pakistan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pakistan Hangs 12 Men in Largest Single-Day Execution in Nearly a Decade by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 17, 2015 7:59 AM CUT  Pakistani NGO activists carry placards during a demonstration to mark the International Day Against the Death Penalty in Islamabad on October 10, 2014. Pakistani NGO activists carry placards during a demonstration to mark the International Day Against the Death Penalty in Islamabad on October 10, 2014.AAMIR QURESHI—AFP/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 17, 2015 7:59 AM CUT Pakistan [hanged 12 men](http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/03/17/pakistan-executions-idINKBN0MD0DT20150317 "undefined") on Tuesday, the largest number of people put to death on the same day since a moratorium on executions was lifted in December, according to an Interior Ministry spokesman. “They were not only terrorists, they included the other crimes,” the spokesman said, according to Reuters. “Some of them were murderers and some did other heinous crimes.” The informal suspension of capital punishment, enacted when the current democratic government took over from military rule in 2008, was removed on Dec. 17 following a Taliban [attack on a school](http://time.com/3637304/pakistan-taliban-massacre-school-peshawar-mourning/ "undefined") that killed over 140 people, mostly children. Although Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the moratorium under pressure to expedite justice for terrorists and militants, the death penalty for non-terrorism crimes was also [reinstated last week](http://time.com/3740149/pakistan-death-penalty/ "undefined"). A total of 27 Pakistanis have been executed since the ban was lifted, and more than 8,000 remain on death row in what human-rights groups say is a severely deficient criminal-justice system. _Read next:_ [_Pakistan Court Sanctions Release of Alleged Mumbai Attacks Mastermind_](http://time.com/3743808/lakhvi-release-detention-order-pakistan-india/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3747202/pakistan-death-penalty-hanging-12-men-moratorium/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3747202/pakistan-death-penalty-hanging-12-men-moratorium/"},"headline":"Pakistan Hangs 12 Men in Largest Single-Day Execution in Nearly a Decade","datePublished":"2015-03-17T07:59:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:12:32.786Z","description":"The country's death penalty was reinstated in December and broadened to non-terrorism crimes a week ago","url":"https://time.com/3747202/pakistan-death-penalty-hanging-12-men-moratorium/","keywords":["Pakistan","Terrorism","Death Penalty","Taliban","execution","Nawaz Sharif"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta0c716570b07d6d8/698783e43c1639a2464524b2/456992412.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta0c716570b07d6d8/698783e43c1639a2464524b2/456992412.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"PAKISTAN-CRIME-EXECUTION-PROTEST","caption":"PAKISTAN-CRIME-EXECUTION-PROTEST","creditText":"AAMIR QURESHI—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/pakistan/","name":"Pakistan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3747202/pakistan-death-penalty-hanging-12-men-moratorium/","name":"Pakistan Hangs 12 Men in Largest Single-Day Execution in Nearly a Decade"}}]}] ```