Pakistani officials executed 12 people this morning in the country 's single-largest day of executions since a moratorium on the death penalty was lifted in December . The executions are sure to raise concerns over due process and proper oversight of the country 's troubled criminal justice system , which rights groups say often does little to protect defendants . Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the moratorium on December 17 , a day after Pakistani Taliban gunmen attacked a school and killed 134 students and 19 adults . The killings put pressure the government to do more to tackle the Islamist insurgency and the current wave of executions are a continuation of Pakistan 's crackdown on the Taliban . Scroll down for video . Family : Relatives of convicted murderer Muhammad Faisal react after his execution in Karachi today . Grief : Pakistani relatives of convicted murderer Muhammad Faisal mourn after his execution in Karachi . Grisly : An ambulance carries the body of murderer Muhammad Afzal , who was hanged in Karachi today . Authorities at different jails in the country 's largest province of Punjab today hanged 10 people who had been sentenced to death in murder cases , said the provincial Home Minister Shuja Khanzada . He said authorities planned to execute more convicted criminals in the coming weeks , adding : 'We have started a process , and it will continue . ' The superintendent of the main jail in the southern port city of Karachi , Qazi Nazir , said they executed two convicted murderers and handed their bodies over to their families . Late last year , Pakistan 's prime minister lifted the death-penalty moratorium specifically for terror-related cases after the December Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar killed 153 people , most of them children . Last week , in a controversial step , the government completely lifted the death-penalty ban for all cases . Human rights groups estimate Pakistan has roughly 8,000 prisoners on death row . A relative mourns beside the body of convicted killer Muhammad Faisal following his execution in Karachi . Day of death : A man chats on the phone as he sits next to the body of his relative Muhammad Afzal , who was convicted of murder and executed in Karachi earlier this morning . One of the most closely watched execution cases is that of Shafqat Hussain , who family members say was 14 when he was sentenced to death by a court in Karachi for the murder of a seven-year-old boy . Hussain 's family proclaims his innocence and Justice Project Pakistan , the legal group handling his case , says Hussain was tortured into making a false confession . The death sentence can not be used against a defendant under the age of 18 when the crime was committed and testimony obtained by torture is inadmissible . 'It 's just a sham , there was no inquiry conducted at all , ' said Shahab Siddiqui from Justice Project Pakistan , the legal aid group representing Hussain . This morning Interior Minister Chaudhry Nidar Ali Khan told the parliament that authorities were still trying to confirm whether Hussain was a juvenile when the alleged murder happened . Hussain is scheduled to be hanged on Thursday . Criticism : The executions are sure to raise concerns over due process and proper oversight of the country 's troubled criminal justice system , which rights groups say often does little to protect defendants . Attack : Human rights groups say convictions in Pakistan are highly unreliable because its antiquated criminal justice system barely functions , torture is common and police are mostly untrained . So far , 39 people have been hanged since December . More than 40 are scheduled to hang in the next week , an Interior Ministry spokesman said . The ministry is reviewing the cases of hundreds more whose appeals have been exhausted . There are more than 8,000 Pakistanis on death row . The moratorium on executions had been in place since a democratic government took power from a military ruler in 2008 . Human rights groups say convictions in Pakistan are highly unreliable because its antiquated criminal justice system barely functions , torture is common and police are mostly untrained . Some of Pakistan 's allies have criticised the executions . 'Executing a person who committed a crime when he was underage is in violation of international law , ' said European Union Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark . 'We do not believe that the death penalty is a deterrent . We are furthermore concerned with possible miscarriages of justice . ' The ministry spokesman said of the 12 executed on Tuesday : 'They were not only terrorists , they included the other crimes , some of them were murderers and some did other heinous crimes . '
Officials carried out executions of 19 people at jails in Punjab and Karachi . Largest number of executions in a single day in Pakistan since moratorium on the death penalty was lifted in December . Prime Minister lifted the moratorium after Taliban terror attack on a school . 134 students and 12 adults were savagely killed in the Peshawar massacre .