Man sentenced to death in blasphemy case

A special court has convicted a man on blasphemy charges, sentencing him to death along with life imprisonment, and imposing a fine of Rs 0.7 million.

Muhammad Afzal Majoka, the judge of the special court established this year to handle cases under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA), delivered the verdict on Saturday.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Qaiser Sajjad, a resident of Tehsil Gujjar Khan, District Rawalpindi, on April 1, 2021, following a complaint regarding the sharing of blasphemous content.

The court sentenced Sajjad to death under Section 295-C and life imprisonment under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for blasphemy. Additionally, he was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment under Section 11 of PECA and fined a total of Rs 700,000 under various sections.

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