Woman gets death over blasphemy

A special court established under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) convicted a woman of blasphemy on Thursday, sentencing her to death and imposing a fine of Rs300,000 under Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Judge Muhammad Afzal Majuka announced the verdict against the woman after the charge of blasphemy against her was proved. The convict has the right to approach the Islamabad High Court against the sentence within 30 days.

In a separate case of blasphemy, an accused from Karachi was sentenced to life imprisonment after the charges against him were proved in the court, and another blasphemy suspect was killed in a police encounter in Mirpurkhas.

A senior police officer told the media that the suspect – a doctor hailing from Umerkot and accused of sharing blasphemous posts on the social media – was coming from Sindhri on a motorcycle with another person when he was signalled by police to stop, but instead of complying, he opened fire on the police.

The police returned the fire injuring the suspect, while his accomplice escaped. The police shifted the injured to the Mirpurkhas Civil Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The police also said that the deceased was in possession of a pistol without a licence.

On Wednesday, enraged protesters gathered in front of the local press club and demanded immediate arrest of the doctor.