Peshawar school attack: Pakistan hangs seven terrorists as John Kerry visits

Pakistan has executed seven militants as US Secretary of State John Kerry pays a visit to the country following the Peshawar school attack.

The executions brings the total number of terrorists killed since the massacre - which left 150 dead - to 16, after the government lifted a moratorium on the death penalty for those convicted of involvement in acts of terror.

Kerry announced that the US is to increase its security and intelligence efforts in Pakistan against terror groups that the Pakistani army has been battling since June last year.

He said that the Pakistani military deserved "enormous credit" for their efforts against the Taliban in North Waziristan on the Afghan border but that more needed to be done.

"I emphasised that the US is committed to deepening our security relationship with Pakistan in order to eliminate threats in the border area and elsewhere," he said at a joint press conference with Pakistan's national security adviser Sartaj Aziz.

"The tragedy of December 16 is really a reminder of the serious risk of allowing extremists to find space, and be able to command that space and operate within it."

He added that terror groups such as the Pakistani Taliban and the Haqqani network "continue to pose a threat not just to Pakistan and its neighbours but also to the United States and the world."

"We all have a responsibility to ensure that these extremists are no longer able to secure a foothold in this country or elsewhere."

Pakistani officials have said that Kerry is to visit Peshawar but US State Department officials are yet to confirm this.