ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has asked authorities to temporarily suspend the implementation of the death penalty during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

A statement released by Sharif's office late Thursday says Sharif ordered a pause to observe "the sanctity of the holy month", which began in most parts of Pakistan on Friday.

Sharif partially lifted Pakistan's moratorium on executions in December specifically for terrorism-related cases following the Taliban attack on a school in the city of Peshawar that left 150 people dead. He later lifted it entirely and since then about 150 inmates have been hanged in Pakistan.