Pakistan Lifts Moratorium on Death Penalty After School Attack

In the wake of a brutal Taliban attack on a Pakistani school that left 148 dead, of which 132 were children, the Pakistani government has ended its moratorium on the death penalty.

The Guardian reports that the lifting of the moratorium is reserved for terror related offenses, making its lifting a direct consequence of the gruesome and senseless attack on a school for the children of Pakistani military members in the city of Peshawar, near the border with Afghanistan.

The moratorium was instituted in 2008. Although it was in effect, judges continued to issue death sentences. There are currently around 8,000 people on death row in Pakistan, according to The Guardian. It is not clear how many are charged with terrorism related crimes and are thus likely to be killed.

Pakistan has begun three days of mourning to commemorate the loss of so many innocent lives.

The Guardian reports that the attackers were members of the Pakistani Taliban operating out of Afghanistan. The Pakistani Army's highest ranking soldier, Raheel Sharif, traveled to the Afghan capital of Kabul to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, according to The Guardian. They may discuss military plans and operations to hunt down and capture those responsible.

It is likely that the Pakistani military, which has been conducting a months long operation against militants in its own territory near the Afghan border, will soon cross into Afghanistan itself in an effort to root out the extremists.

The attack on the school was carried out by seven Taliban members armed with automatic rifles and explosive fests. The attackers entered the school and began to shoot randomly at students and teachers. The military responded to the scene rapidly, but were unable to regain control of the facility until around eight hours after the attack began. All of the attackers either detonated their vests or died in gunfights with the army.