Pakistan has removed its moratorium on death penalty in terror cases, following the Taliban massacre of 132 children at a school in Peshawar. The move is designed to show that the government is serious about fighting terrorism and as a result, about 500 militants are facing execution in the next few weeks. Just over 50 are facing imminent execution after President Mamnoon Hussain rejected their petitions for mercy.
Nonetheless, re-activating the death penalty for terrorist crimes is only a small part of the answer because it only focuses on dealing with those who have committed past acts of terror. It is far more important that the government takes action to stop future acts and it is in this area that it has been lacking in the past. Pakistan needs a cross-party strategy that will last for decades even if governments change. This should include an intelligence and military plan, as well as a coordinated plan to both improve the governance in the badly affected areas in order to re-engage people’s trust in government institutions and to offer disenchanted Pakistanis a more prosperous and constructive economic future rather than chose a career in terror.
