'Prolific' Pak executed 150 death row prisoners in last six months

Pakistan is emerging as one of the world's most prolific executioners after carrying out 150 death penalties in the last six months, amid concerns that many of those on death row gave false confessions under torture, a human rights group said.

According to Reprieve, the figure pitted the Islamic Republic far ahead of countries like Saudi Arabia, which executed 90 people, and the United States, which carried out 14 death sentences in the same period.

Pakistan placed a moratorium on death penalty in March 2008 but it was partially lifted at the end of the 2014 in the wake of Peshawar school massacre, when 132 school kids were slaughtered by the Taliban. It was lifted completely on March 10 this year.

After the decision, a total of 8,500 prisoners, members of the world's largest death row population, were up for being led to the gallows. Since then, capital punishments have been carried out at a high rate.

Pakistani ministers have said that they plan to execute hundreds more, despite concerns expressed by the international community over the use of torture to 'extract' confessions.