Saudi Arabia Beheads Pakistani Over Drug Smuggling

Saudi authorities have beheaded a Pakistani man found guilty of attempting to smuggle drugs into the kingdom.

In a statement, the Saudi Interior Ministry said Mnawar Khan was arrested at King Khaled International airport in Riyadh with heroin in his intestines.

According to the statement, Khan confessed to attempted drug smuggling, which is punishable by death in the Gulf state.

The beheading on November 8 brings to around 60 the number of death penalties carried out in Saudi Arabia this year.

Last year, 79 people were executed for crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, and drug smuggling.

Saudi Arabia enforces a strict version of Islamic Sharia law.

Human rights group Amnesty International said Riyadh carried out the third-highest number of executions worldwide in 2011, after China and Iran.

Based on reporting by dpa and AFP