Blasphemy convict sentenced to death

RAWALPINDI:

An Additional District and Sessions Judge has sentenced a 50-year-old man to death and imposed a fine of Rs1 million after finding him guilty in a high-profile blasphemy case.

The court ruled that the convict be hanged by the neck until death, stating that the crime was heinous and unforgivable, and that no one can be permitted to commit blasphemy.

Earlier, the Sessions Court had sentenced Muhammad Arif to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs500,000, but the convict challenged the verdict before the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court, arguing that he was not given a fair trial. The High Court accepted his plea on technical grounds, set aside the earlier verdict, and remanded the case back to the trial court with directions to re-hear all arguments and evidence.

Upon retrial, the Sessions Court increased the punishment to death and doubled the fine to Rs1 million, also ordering the confiscation of the convict's property.

Following the announcement of the verdict, Arif was handcuffed in the courtroom and taken to Adiala Jail by police.

The case had been registered on September 24, 2024, at Civil Lines Police Station on the complaint of Kamran Khan son of Shamim Khan, a resident of Dhoke Hassnabad. The complainant alleged that while he and his friends were having tea at a hotel, the accused joined them, borrowed a cigarette, and after brief conversation, uttered blasphemous remarks, leading to an altercation and subsequent filing of the case.