Islamabad, March 19 (IANS): Pakistan on Thursday defended its decision to lift a moratorium on the death sentence after the UN and the European Union urged the country to halt executions.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ended years of moratorium on the death penalty after the Taliban attacked an army-run school in Peshawar in December and killed over 140 students and staff.

The UN in Pakistan said on Thursday that it was "deeply concerned at the increasing number and pace of executions in the country since December 2014", Xinhua news agency reported. The European Union also called on Pakistan to halt the executions.

However, Pakistan has rejected objections at the resumption of the hangings of the convicts on death row. The foreign ministry said executions were not in violation of any international human rights law.

"Pakistan has its own constitution and legal system which contains death penalty within the parameters of international laws," foreign office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.

In response to a question at her weekly news briefing in Islamabad about the EU concerns on capital punishment, she said it was the fundamental right of the state to protect the lives of its people.

The spokesperson also referred to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, saying every human being has the right to live and that this right should be protected by law. She said the actions Pakistan was taking was to protect the lives of the people.

"Pakistan is engaged with the European Union and has told them clearly its perspective on the matter. The EU also understands Pakistan's position under which it has removed the moratorium on death sentence," she said.