AFP/Riyadh
Saudi Arabia on Friday beheaded a convicted Pakistani heroin trafficker, adding to a sharp increase in executions this year.
Shah Faisal Azeem Shah was found guilty of smuggling the drugs hidden in his body, the interior ministry said in a statement reported by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Authorities carried out the sentence against him in the capital Riyadh.
The kingdom resumed executions last week after a pause for the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan and the subsequent Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Shah's case brings to 109 the number of beheadings this year in the kingdom.
The number of Saudis and foreigners put to death this year is up 125% from 87 during the whole of 2014, according to AFP tallies.
The interior ministry has cited deterrence as a reason for carrying out the latest punishment. It has also talked of "the physical and social harm" caused by drugs.
