65 mercy pleas rejected in Pakistan

Pakistani President Mumnoon Husain has rejected the mercy petitions of 65 condemned prisoners since the moratorium on death sentence was lifted following the Peshawar Army School tragedy last year, media reported on Tuesday.

According to official reports, Pakistan has executed approximately 150 "criminals" over the past six months, Dawn online reported.

The only woman whose mercy petition had been rejected is Kaneezan Bibi of Lahore, a convict in a murder case.

All these 65 condemned prisoners will be executed after Ramadan as their pleas have been rejected by the apex court, the report said.

Kaneezan Bibi, who is mentally unstable, will be the ninth woman to be hanged in Pakistan.

According to official documents, pleas of 47 other women on death row were pending in different courts.

The government on June 13 suspended execution of all black warrants during Ramadan. The executions will be resumed after Eidul Fitr.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif partially lifted the moratorium on executions linked to terrorism following the December 2014 Taliban attack on Peshawar's Army Public School, which left over 140 students and staff dead.

The moratorium was lifted completely on March 10.