QUETTA, June 19: Special courts for suppression of terrorism have awarded death sentence to 18 people in 12 murder cases registered in different areas of Balochistan in the past two-and-a-half months.

The cases were registered in Quetta, Dalbandin, Qila Abdullah, Khuzdar, Mashkey, Kalat, Sibi and Chattar.

Those awarded the capital punishment were Din Mohammad, Gagi Khan, Mohammad Qasim, Dad Mohammad, Karim Dad, Amanullah, Abdul Khaliq, Lakh Mir, Mohammad Akbar, Mohammad Ramzan, Asmatullah, Toor Khan, Bural Khan, Ataullah, Mohammad Arif, Noor Mohammad, Abdul Hameed and Mula Bukhsh.

According to an official handout, issued here on Wednesday, the courts are trying to dispose of murder and other criminal cases as quickly as possible.

The statement said that the provincial government was taking steps to provide speedy justice to the people in the province.