RIYADH: Saudi Arabia beheaded on Friday a Pakistani man convicted of smuggling heroin into the kingdom, the interior ministry said.

Butha Mushtaq was the third Pakistan executed on drug trafficking charges in Saudi Arabia since Oct 15.

He was found guilty of smuggling heroin concealed in capsules which he had swallowed. The man was executed in Riyadh, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. His execution brings to 59 the number of people beheaded in the country this year. Last year, 78 people of various nationalities were executed.

Published in Dawn, October 25th , 2014