Two men sentenced to death in Sahiwal Facebook blasphemy case

SAHIWAL: An anti-terrorism court in Sahiwal on Thursday sentenced two men to death after convicting them in a case related to a Facebook post deemed blasphemous, according to police and the court verdict reported from the district.

Anti-Terrorism Court Special Judge Ziaullah Khan also handed both convicts seven years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs1.5 million on each of them. After the ruling, the two men were moved to Central Prison, Sahiwal.

Police said the case had been registered on Sept 22, 2024, at Chichawatni Saddar Police Station on the complaint of Assistant Sub-Inspector Shamasul Hasan Sabri. The FIR included Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, Sections 7 and 9 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1996, and Sections 10 and 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.

According to the police version, ASI Sabri was on patrol along with constables Imran Hyder and Mudasir Jahangir and driver Wakeel Ahmed when he saw the post on the Facebook account of one of the accused, who belongs to a village in Chichawatni. Police said the material was also shared by the second accused, a resident of Talagang, on his own Facebook account, after which officers travelled to Talagang to arrest him. Police alleged the post had offended the sentiments of Muslims and was intended to stir religious hatred among communities.