Pakistan army chief confirms death sentences for 11 Taliban

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s army chief has confirmed death sentences for 11 “hardcore terrorists” after military courts found them guilty of carrying out multiple attacks that killed 60 civilians and security forces in recent years.

In a statement Saturday, the military says Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa also approved imprisonment for three people for their involvement in acts of terrorism. It says the 11 convicted Pakistani Taliban had killed 36 civilians and 24 troops in separate attacks in the country.

The trials are closed to the public but defendants are allowed to hire lawyers.

Pakistan resumed military trials for militants and lifted a moratorium on the death penalty after a 2014 attack on a school in Peshawar that killed more than 150 people, mostly young students.