The Lahore High Court [official website] on Thursday delayed the execution of former police officer Khizar Hayat until the Pakistan Supreme Court [official website] can rule on the case of another mentally ill convict. Hayat’s execution is now scheduled for January 30 [Al Jazeera report], and whether it is carried out may depend on the Supreme Court’s decision. Hayat is a former police officer, and was sentenced to death in 2003 for shooting another police officer in a private dispute. Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) [advocacy website] is handling Hayat’s case, and argues that he does not know or understand why he is on death row.

The Lahore High Court issued its order [JURIST report] to execute Hayat on Wednesday. In August the Supreme Court of Pakistan upheld [JURIST report] the death sentences of 16 civilians convicted of terror-related offenses by military courts. Last year a group of independent UN human rights experts called on [JURIST report] Pakistan to reinstate a moratorium on the death penalty after reports of minors being sentenced to death. A Pakistani court suspended the execution [JURIST report] of a paraplegic prisoner after numerous human rights groups claimed that a hanging would be cruel and inhumane. In 2015 Pakistan executed [JURIST report] a man alleged to have murdered a child when he was a minor despite international criticism and allegations that his confession was coerced. Pakistan lifted [JURIST report] a 6 year moratorium on the death penalty in March 2015.