A total of 6,161 Pakistani prisoners were on death row in 2024, an increase from last year’s 6,039, according to a report by Justice Project Pakistan (JPP).

The JPP is a Lahore-based, non-profit legal action firm that represents the most vulnerable Pakistani prisoners facing the harshest punishments, at home and abroad.

The NGO recently released the third edition of its annual report called Death Penalty in Pakistan: Data Mapping Capital Punishment commemorating the 22nd World Day Against the Death Penalty.

The report showed that 6,161 prisoners were on death row in Pakistan which was an increase from 6,039 reported in 2023. The highest number was in Punjab at 2505 followed by KP at 2311 prisoners on death row.

The number contrasted with earlier trends such as in 2022 when the death row population stood at 3,226.

The 2024 edition extensively covered Pakistan’s death penalty landscape by consolidating both quantitative and qualitative data.

The report not only presents a statistical overview of death row but also delves into the underlying issues within Pakistan’s criminal justice system that perpetuate the use of capital punishment,“ he statement said.

Pakistan was ranked as “one of the highest users of the death penalty globally” which is a “sobering statistic” highlighting “the urgent need for reform”, according to the report.

It said that Pakistan has not carried out capital punishment since December 2019 but it “remains one of the most prolific users of capital punishment, with over 31 crimes punishable by death”.

The report was available for public access on the NGO’s digital platform.

“We invite policymakers, advocates, and the general public to engage with this data as part of a broader dialogue on justice reform,” the statement said.

“Through this report, JPP seeks to magnify the individual stories behindthese statistics, highlighting the often overlooked human toll of state-sanctioned executions,” it added.