Militants do not deserve mercy:Pak PM Sharif

Amid calls from international rights groups against executions, Pakistan Prime Minister on Thursday said militants who kill innocent people do not deserve mercy.

“Those who kill innocent people do not deserve any mercy,” he said after Australian foreign Minister Julie Bishop called on him here.

He said Pakistan’s economy suffered due to terrorism, forcing the county to launch an operation against terrorists.

The Prime Minister said the offensive was successful in eliminating militants’ network and sanctuaries.

Pakistan has sent almost hundred death row convicts to gallows since it lifted the moratorium on capital punishment after a deadly militant attack on an army-run school in Peshawar on December 16 last year.

Sharif said Pakistan welcomes cooperation of the Australian government to help the people displaced by military operation. The Pakistani leader said his country gave importance to relations with Australia and wanted to enhance it.

The Prime Minister talked about the “vast opportunities” to increase bilateral cooperation as Pakistan’s economy was picking up and providing “lucrative investment opportunities to the foreign investors”.