Pakistani officials say they executed 12 male convicts Tuesday, in the largest single-day total since the government lifted a moratorium on the death penalty.

Ten prisoners were hanged at jails in Punjab province, while two others were hanged in the southern city of Karachi.

Revocation of the policy was first applied only to those prisoners convicted of terrorism offences, but last week news emerged that the change had been widened to include all prisoners on death row whose appeals had been rejected.

Since the death penalty was reinstated, 27 people have been put to death in addition to the 12 men hanged Tuesday.

Human rights groups protested the reinstatement of capital punishment, saying many convictions in Pakistan are highly unreliable, obtained through torture or unfair trials.

Rights groups say there are more than 8,000 people on Pakistan’s death row.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reinstated the death penalty after the December 16, 2014 school attack in Peshawar that killed 134 children along with 16 staff members.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault and vowed to carry out more such attacks.

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