Youth booked over blasphemy in Haripur

Accused, Syed Ahsan Shah, later granted bail by a local court

HARIPUR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police on Saturday arrested a young man for allegedly uploading blasphemous matter on a social networking site and registered a case against him under Section 298-A of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The case was registered on an application alleging that Syed Ahsan Shah, a resident of Kot Najeebullah, had uploaded blasphemous material on Facebook.

Sources said the police arrested the accused and presented him in a local court, which later approved his bail application.

An official said the complaint was moved against Shah by people in his neighbourhood.



Four people, including two women, were also booked under the blasphemy law a day earlier for allegedly mocking the religion and sentiments of Muslims.

According to the FIR registered in Sindh’s Jamshoro district, one of the accused – Nayab Sarkash – had acted as  nikah khwan (marriage officiate) and solemnised marriage of two other accused, Sindhia with Nazeer Khoso, according to Shariat-e-Latifi – poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s canonical law.

The complainant claimed the act ridiculed and profaned Shariat-e-Muhammadi. According to him, the police came to know about the incident through social media after a video of Sarkash solemnising the nikah spread like wildfire, drawing both condemnation and support.

[WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM NEWS DESK]