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Pakistan Suspends Death Penalty During Ramadan


Pakistan has temporarily suspended the death penalty during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ordered the pause to observe "the sanctity of the holy month."

Ramadan begins in most parts of Pakistan on June 19.

In December, Pakistan partially lifted its moratorium on executions following a Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar that left 150 people dead, mostly children.

Sharif later lifted the ban entirely, and since then about 150 inmates have been hanged in Pakistan.

Pakistan's military has intensified a military campaign against local and foreign militants since the Taliban school attack in Peshawar.

The military killed 20 suspected militants in air strikes on June 19 in the northwestern Khyber tribal region, the army said.

The Pakistani military says it has killed more than 2,700 militants since launching a major military operation in the North Waziristan tribal region one year ago.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP

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