A man in Pakistan declared himself a prophet (symbolic picture)
Karachi: A Pakistani court has sentenced a man to 25 years rigorous imprisonment for blasphemy for declaring himself a prophet. An additional district judge pronounced the sentence on Tuesday after a hearing at the central jail in Hyderabad in Sindh province. The name or religion of the convict was not disclosed. The judge also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the convict. The judge said he did not find any concrete evidence to award the death penalty.
This is how the case was filed
The man was arrested under the blasphemy law after a man named Mehboob Ali filed a complaint against him at the Mirpur Sakro police station. The complainant said that on April 1, 2018, the man had declared himself a prophet in his presence. He presented four people as witnesses in the case. Pakistan’s blasphemy law carries the death penalty for anyone found insulting Islam.
what the critics say
Critics say the blasphemy law has been used to persecute and unfairly target minorities. Two Muslim women were booked on blasphemy charges this week for burning pages of the Quran in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Last week, Punjab police said they had booked two Christian sisters on blasphemy charges. Last October, a Senate committee on human rights was told that 215 individuals were arrested under the blasphemy law in 2023, with Sindh making the highest number of arrests at 78. The committee was also told that incidents of individuals using the blasphemy law to settle personal enmity and other disputes have been reported. (Language)
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