Man to appeal death sentence for blasphemy

A Christian man accused of blasphemy in Jaranwala will appeal against a death sentence handed down by an anti-terrorism court, his lawyer said on Saturday.

The 36-year old man was convicted of blasphemy over allegations he had desecrated the Holy Quran, that fuelled attacks on a Christian neighbourhood in 2023 in which hundreds of houses and churches were torched and thousands of people forced to flee their homes.

"We will file an appeal in the High Court against it," his lawyer Akmal Bhatti told Reuters, referring to the verdict delivered on Friday night.