Pakistan: Man sentenced to death in blasphemy case

Islamabad: A man found guilty of blasphemy by a Pakistani special court has been sentenced to death in the Rawalpindi city of Punjab province, according to media sources.

The decision was made on Saturday by Muhammad Afzal Majoka, the judge of the special court that was created this year to hear cases pertaining to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.

On April 1, 2021, in response to a complaint about the spreading of blasphemous information, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Qaiser Sajjad, a resident of Tehsil Gujjar Khan, District Rawalpindi.

Sajjad was found guilty of blasphemy under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and given a life sentence under Section 295-B. In addition, he was fined a total of Rs 700,000 under many provisions and given a seven-year jail sentence under Section 11 of the PECA.

The court also ordered the superintendent of Adiala Jail to imprison the convict.