Pak man sentenced to 25 years in prison for blasphemy

Karachi, Aug 28 (PTI) A Pakistani court has sentenced a man to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for blasphemy after he allegedly declared himself to be a prophet.

An additional district judge on Tuesday sentenced the accused, whose name or faith was not disclosed, after a trial conducted inside the central jail in Hyderabad in Sindh province.

The judge also imposed a fine of half a million rupees on the convicted man.

The judge said the sentence was awarded on the basis of mitigating circumstances. At the same time, he said no concrete proof was found for awarding him a death sentence.

The accused was arrested under the blasphemy law after a man named Mahboob Ali lodged a complaint at the Mirpur Sakro police station against him.

The complainant said that on April 1, 2018, the accused declared himself to be a prophet in his presence.

He produced four people as witnesses in the case.

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam. Critics say they have been used to persecute minority faiths and unfairly target minorities.

This week, two Muslim women were booked under blasphemy charges for allegedly burning pages of the Quran in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Last week, Punjab police said they had booked two young Christian sisters under blasphemy charges against them.

Last October, a Senate committee on Human Rights was told that 215 individuals had been arrested in 2023 under the blasphemy law with the highest number of 78 arrests made in Sindh.

The committee was also informed that there are recorded incidents of individuals using the blasphemy law to settle personal enmities and other disputes.