Pakistan's vote 'inaccurately recorded' in favour of resolution seeking moratorium on executions: FO

Published December 18, 2018
In this file photo, FO Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal addresses a press briefing.
In this file photo, FO Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal addresses a press briefing.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal on Tuesday said reports stating that Pakistan had voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on executions a day earlier were mistaken.

"Pakistan, in accordance with its consistent policy, voted against the General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on execution, with a view to abolishing the death penalty," Dr Faisal said in a tweet.

He clarified that Pakistan's vote was "inaccurately recorded" in favour of the resolution "due to technical issues".

"The Permanent Mission of Pakistan has taken up this matter with the UN Secretariat to put the record straight."

The Amnesty International, which opposes the use of death penalty, had reported on Monday that Pakistan was among the four UN members which changed their vote to support the resolution. The other three countries were Dominica, Libya and Malaysia.

A record 121 of the UN’s 193 member states voted in favour of the seventh resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty at the UNGA plenary session in New York, according to Amnesty. While 35 countries voted against the resolution, which was proposed by Brazil, 32 members abstained.

According to a report released by the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) earlier this year, Pakistan accounts for 13 per cent of all global executions since December 2014, when it lifted a de facto moratorium on the death penalty.

At least 496 people have been executed in the country since 2014.

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...