PESHAWAR: An anti-terrorism court here on Saturday convicted a man for blasphemy and other religion-related offences and sentenced him to death.

The judge, who conducted the trial of the case inside the Peshawar Central Jail due to sensitivity of the matter, pronounced that the prosecution had proved its case against the accused and the evidence on record connected him with the commission of the offence, official sources confirmed.

The convict, a resident of Bannu district, was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency’s Counterterrorism Wing last year. He was charged with different provisions of Pakistan Penal Code, including section 295-C (blasphemy) and that of Anti-Terrorism Act.

The FIA claimed that the convict had displayed Quranic verses with objectionable photos and posted them on social media. It was added that he had committed blasphemy that also hurt religious sentiments of a large number of people.

The court convicted him on multiple counts and sentenced him to death for blasphemy as well as life imprisonment for other offences.

The court also directed that a murder reference should be sent to the Peshawar High Court for confirmation of his death sentence.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2024