Woman sentenced to death for ‘online blasphemy’
• Family pardons cop who killed blasphemy suspect in Quetta
• HRCP raises alarm over extrajudicial killings in blasphemy cases
ISLAMABAD/QUETTA: A woman was sentenced to death on Thursday under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) in a blasphemy case.
Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka convicted the woman under Section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 11 of Peca. In addition to the death penalty, the court imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the convict.
The case was brought against her by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing on a complaint lodged by a private citizen, Shiraz Ahmed.
According to the FIR, the woman, who belongs to the Christian community, was accused of posting blasphemous content about the Holy Prophet (PBUH) on social media in September 2020. The FIA registered the case against her on July 29, 2021.
The woman, a mother of four, had previously sought bail from both the trial court and the Islamabad High Court (IHC), but her bail applications were rejected by both courts.
Family pardons cop
Separately, the family of Abdul Ali, who was shot and killed while he was in police custody over blasphemy accusations, has pardoned the police official responsible for his death.
At a press conference, the sons of Abdul Ali (also known as Shakhi), Muhammad Usman and Muhammad Wali, along with the chief of the Noorzai tribe, Haji Faizullah Nourzai, condemned the act of blasphemy allegedly committed by Ali. Two of Ali’s brothers, Khair Muhammad and Bor Muhammad, also denounced his actions.
“The family and tribe have nothing to do with the vile act of blasphemy committed by Abdul Ali,” Usman said, adding, “We have pardoned police official Saad Muhammad Sarhadi unconditionally, in the name of Allah.”
Usman and Wali also announced that they would not pursue legal action against the police officer, who had been arrested after the killing and charged with murder.
Ali had been arrested the previous week for allegedly making blasphemous remarks, which had gone viral on social media.
HRCP expresses concern over killings
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it is “gravely concerned by the alleged extrajudicial killing of two people accused of blasphemy: a hotel owner in Quetta while in custody, and a doctor in Umarkot during a police raid”.
“This pattern of violence in cases of blasphemy, in which law enforcement personnel are allegedly involved, is an alarming trend,” the commission said in a statement.
It urged the government to conduct an independent inquiry into the death of the doctor in Umarkot and ensure that those responsible are held accountable. “At a wider level, the state must counter the rising radicalisation (much of which has been historically sponsored by the state itself) that triggers such incidents,” the HRCP said.
Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2024