Amnesty International is outraged at a decision by the new government in Pakistan to end a ban on the death penalty.
A moratorium imposed by the previous government in 2008 expired on 30 June.
An interior ministry spokesperson said the new government does not plan to extend the moratorium.
According to Amnesty International, up to 8000 people remain on death row in dozens of overcrowded prisons.
The government puts the number at about 400. The method of execution is usually hanging.
Amnesty said the decision is "shocking and retrograde".
Pakistan says capital punishment is key to deterring crime in places such as Karachi as well as on the border with Afghanistan where the Taliban launches daily attacks.
