MULTAN: A Pakistani court Saturday sentenced four people to death for blasphemy, allegedly because they posted sacrilegious material on social media about Islamic religious figures and the Holy Qur’an. Their lawyer said appeal preparations are underway.
Under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its religious figures can be sentenced to death. Authorities have yet to carry out such a penalty, although the accusation of blasphemy and opposition to the law can incite mob violence or reprisals.
Judge Tariq Ayub in the city of Rawalpindi declared that blasphemy, disrespect to holy figures, and desecration of the Holy Qur’an were unforgivable offenses and left no room for leniency.
Along with the death sentences, the judge imposed collective fines of 4.6 million rupees (around $16,500) and handed down jail terms to each of the four should a higher court overturn their death sentences.
The men’s lawyer, Manzoor Rahmani, criticized the court’s decision and investigating authorities’ lack of evidence.
“The doubts and uncertainties that arise in such cases are ignored by the courts, likely due to the fear of religious backlash and potential mob violence against the judge if the accused is acquitted,” said Rahmani.
“We are preparing our appeals against the decision and will go to the High Court.”
Anti-blasphemy measures introduced in Pakistan in the 1980s made it illegal to insult Islam.
Since then, people have been accused of insulting the religion, desecrating its texts, or writing offensive remarks on the walls of mosques. Critics of the law say it is used to settle personal disputes.
Pakistani court sentences four people to death for blasphemy
https://arab.news/6h5js
Pakistani court sentences four people to death for blasphemy
- Under Pakistan’s laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its figures can be sentenced to death
- Authorities have yet to carry out such a penalty, although opposition to the law can incite reprisals
Pakistan police, security forces kill 12 militants in separate operations
- The operations were conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak, Balochistan’s Kalat districts
- The country is currently battling twin insurgencies in both provinces that border Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s police and security forces have gunned down 12 militants in separate operations in two western provinces that border Afghanistan, authorities said on Sunday.
Police launched an operation in a mountainous area of Karak district in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, following reports of militant presence, according to Karak police spokesman Shaukat Khan.
The operation resulted in the killing of at least eight militants, while several others were wounded in the exchange of fire with law enforcers. Karak police chief Saud Khan led the heavy police contingent alongside personnel from intelligence agencies.
“Several militant hideouts located in the mountainous terrain between Kohat and Karak districts were dismantled during the operation,” Khan told Arab News on Sunday evening, adding the operation was still ongoing.
Separately, security forces killed four “Indian-sponsored” separatist militants in an intelligence-based operation in Kalat district of the southwestern Balochistan province, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored terrorist found in the area.”
Pakistan, which has been facing a surge in militancy, has long accused Afghanistan of allowing its soil and India of backing militant groups, including the TTP, for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi have consistently denied this.
