PESHAWAR: Former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Thursday claimed in the past, the government had placed a moratorium on death penalty due to international pressure in violation of the Constitution and law.

During a visit to the Peshawar High Court, the former chief justice told reporters that the decision to place restriction on the implementation of death penalties awarded to convicts was wrong as under the Constitution, the government couldn’t do so.

Read: Nawaz removes moratorium on death penalty

He said death penalty served as deterrence against heinous crimes and it was part of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Retired justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said during the period when the death penalty moratorium was in place, the courts continued to award death sentences to convicts.

He said before restricting the implementation of death penalties, the government was required to amend the Constitution and Pakistan Penal Code.

The former chief justice said there were around 400 condemned prisoners across the country whose mercy pleas had been rejected by the president, so the government should implement death sentences against them without delay.

He said the Peshawar school attack was a barbaric act and that such act had never happened.

Retired justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said it was unfortunate that the violence took place in a cantonment area, which was a very sensitive location.

He said those behind the carnage deserved no mercy and that they should be arrested for exemplary punishment.

The former chief justice said Peshawar had seen several big tragedies, which were gradually forgotten but the people won’t be able to forget the Tuesday school tragedy.

He said the school attack couldn’t be forgotten as it targeted innocent children.

Retired justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said the tragedy had unified the nation.

“It is very unfortunate that we need such like incidents to get united as a nation,” he said. In the bar room, the former chief justice met lawyers and condoled with them the loss of relatives in the school attack.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2014