Blasphemy suspect’s killer sent to jail
A man, who had shot and killed the suspect in a blasphemy case in a Peshawar court last week, was sent on a two-week judicial remand after his physical remand ended on Monday.
The suspect, Faisal, was presented before the Special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Peshawar on Monday.
The court was told that the suspect has been charged with killing Tahir Ahmed Naseem, who was accused of blasphemy, in the courtroom. The suspect was immediately arrested by the police while the murder weapon was also recovered.
The ATC had initially awarded a three-day physical remand which was extended for a day which expired on Monday.
After both sides concluded their arguments on Monday, the court sent the suspect to jail for two weeks on judicial remand.
A man accused of blasphemy for claiming that he was a prophet was shot six times during a hearing in the provincial capital last month.
A first information report (FIR) was registered against the shooter under Sections 302 (punishment for premeditated murder), Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and Section 15 of the Arms Act on the complaint of a police officer.
Naseem had been in police custody since 2018 when he was accused of having committed blasphemy by claiming to be a prophet.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2020.