Prosecution seeks forensic audit of laptop of blasphemy accused Junaid Hafeez

Published September 12, 2019
Junaid Hafeez was booked on blasphemy charges and was arrested by police on March 13, 2013. — Dawn/File
Junaid Hafeez was booked on blasphemy charges and was arrested by police on March 13, 2013. — Dawn/File

LAHORE: The Prosecution on Wednesday filed three different applications in a blasphemy case against a lecturer and requested the trial court to summon Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) expert and sought permission to get forensic examination of a laptop and a cell phone belonging to the accused.

A Bahauddin Zakariya University visiting lecturer, Junaid Hafeez, was booked on blasphemy charges and was arrested by police on March 13, 2013. The trial of the case started in 2014.

The defence counsel had already completed the cross examination of the witnesses presented by the prosecution.

On Wednesday, the court was supposed to record statement of the accused under section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

However, the prosecution filed three new applications, including the one for sending laptop and mobile phone recovered from the accused at the time of his arrest in 2013, another for de-exhibition of some documents and the application filed under section 540 of the CrPC, along with section 94 of the CrPC, for summoning an expert working for the PFSA who prepared a report on the evidence gathered by police.

The defence counsel also submitted an application requesting the court to hold the trial proceedings on a daily basis.

The court sought arguments both from prosecution and defence sides on Sept 25 and adjourned the hearing.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2019

Opinion

Editorial

Killing fields
Updated 09 Jul, 2025

Killing fields

Israeli state seeks to ethnically cleanse the occupied territories of their Palestinian inhabitants, and forever obstruct the chances of a viable Palestinian state.
Crypto rush
09 Jul, 2025

Crypto rush

STEP by step, Pakistan is, at least on paper, moving closer to recognising, adopting and regulating cryptocurrencies...
Another plan
09 Jul, 2025

Another plan

FAILING to plan is planning to fail, as the old saying goes. This seems to have occurred in the case of Karachi, a...
Green tokenism
Updated 08 Jul, 2025

Green tokenism

Climate decisions must be based on facts, not politics — guided by independent science and open to public scrutiny.
Cotton decline
08 Jul, 2025

Cotton decline

PAKISTAN’S cotton economy is in a crisis. Production has fallen from a peak of 14m bales 10 years ago to 5.5m ...
Pet problems
08 Jul, 2025

Pet problems

PAKISTANIS’ obsession with exotic pets keeps ending in tragedy. Incidents like the recent lion attack in a Lahore...