LONDON, April 27: In its annual report on the death penalty released on Friday, Amnesty International, the global human rights watchdog, has indicated that after China and Iran, Pakistan had the highest number of executions (82) in the world in 2006. Additionally, more than 7,000 prisoners are on death row, currently the largest figure for any country.

China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and the US “accounted for 91 per cent of all executions carried out in 2006,” says the report titled `The death penalty worldwide: developments in 2006’.

Referring to the “disturbing revival of executions,” Amnesty pointed out that the number of death sentences carried out in Pakistan in 2006 nearly tripled over the previous year (31). Amnesty has appealed to President Pervez Musharraf to issue “bans on all imminent executions”.

The report shows that at least 1,591 people were executed in 25 countries last year – the overwhelming majority in China (1,010), Iran (177), Pakistan (82), Iraq (65), Sudan (65) and the USA (53). These six countries alone accounted for 91 per cent of all executions carried out in 2006, says a press release.