Peshawar: Pakistani tribesmen today publicly executed two criminals accused of a series of murders and kidnappings for ransom in a troubled area near the Afghan border, officials said.

Tribesmen blindfolded the two criminals and tied their hands behind their backs before shooting them with rifles in Bara, the main town in Khyber tribal region, an AFP photographer witnessed.

Around 500 local tribesmen watched the executions, which took place after the suspects were tried in a self-styled court headed by local Islamic militants, a local administration official said.

The official said the two men had been accused of several crimes, but were sentenced to death after pleading guilty to the recent murder of a taxi driver.

The court authorised the uncle and brother of the deceased to shoot the two criminals.

Islamic militants in the lawless Khyber tribal area have launched a campaign against crime in the deeply conservative region reminiscent of Afghanistan's Taliban movement, which was in government in Kabul from 1996-2001.

Source : PTI