RIYADH: Saudi authorities beheaded by the sword on Wednesday a Pakistani convicted of smuggling heroin, the Saudi interior ministry said.

Wajid Ali Zarnoosh was found guilty of trafficking heroin into Saudi Arabia, the ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency.

His beheading in Qatif, Eastern Province, brings to 50 the number of people executed in the ultra-conservative kingdom this year.

In 2012, the Gulf country put to death 76 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Human Rights Watch has put the number at 69.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic laws.