A man was recently sentenced to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined an additional Rs 1 lakh by a court in Pakistan for having committed blasphemy. The sessions court in Lahore found Zulfiqar guilty after hearing statements from witnesses and considering lawyers’ claims. Apart from imposing a hefty fine on Zulfiqar, the court also ordered to have all of his movable and immovable assets seized. The case that Zulfiqar was convicted for earlier this month, was first lodged in 2006 by Race Course police station, after they received complaints of him having desecrated the holy Quran.
Blasphemy is an overly sensitive issue in Pakistan, with many people misusing the laws related to the same to carry out personal vendettas. Quite naturally, these laws have been criticized by human rights groups across the world. The most stringent punishment that can be met out for blasphemy is the death penalty.
In 2011, Salmaan Taseer, former governor of Punjab, as well as Shahbaz Bhatti, minister for minorities, were both shot dead in two separate attacks, presumably for advocating changes to the country’s current blasphemy laws.
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