City
Epaper

Pak academic sentenced to death over blasphemy charges

By IANS | Published: December 21, 2019 2:00 PM

A Pakistan court on Saturday sentenced Junaid Hafeez, a former university lecturer in Multan, to death on blasphemy charges.

Open in App

Formerly a visiting lecturer at the Department of English Literature of the Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Multan, Hafeez was booked on blasphemy charges and was arrested by police on March 13, 2013, Dawn news reported.

The trial of the case started in 2014.

Earlier this year, the academic's parents had appealed to former Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa to look into their son's case.

They had said their son had been languishing in solitary confinement in a cell of the Central Jail, Multan, for the last six years on the false charge of blasphemy.

Hafeez's previous lawyer, Rashid Rehman, was shot dead in May 2014 in his office. At least nine judges were transferred through the course of his case.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often prompting mob violence, said Dawn news.

Anyone convicted, or even just accused, of insulting Islam, risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes.

In 2017, a mob in Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan beat student, Mashal Khan, to death after accusing him of blasphemy over social media.

Last year, the Supreme Court acquitted Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman earlier condemned to death on blasphemy charges, after accepting her appeal against her sentence.

So far, no one has been executed for blasphemy in the country.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: Bahauddin Zakariya UniversityHafeezMultanAsif Saeed KhosaRashid Rehman
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalBuilding Collapse: Nine Killed, Two Injured in Pakistan’s Multan City (See Tweet)

InternationalPakistan: CTD arrests nine suspects linked with banned outfits

InternationalPakistan HEC bans Holi celebrations across educational institutes citing 'erosion of Islamic identitiy'

InternationalPak: At least 7 killed, 30 injured in separate road accidents in Sheikhupura and Chagai

InternationalPTI can fit in a rickshaw after defections: Maryam Nawaz

International Realted Stories

InternationalIDF only security force capable of preventing terror resurgence in Gaza, says Netanyahu

InternationalVice President Dhankhar embarks to Tehran for Iranian President Raisi's funeral

InternationalIsraeli Ambassador highlights India's support amid global criticism

InternationalTaiwan detects Chinese incursion with military vessels around nation

InternationalIsrael: “Resettling Gaza Was Never in the Cards,” Says PM Benjamin Netanyahu