A woman was sentenced to death on Thursday under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) for blasphemy. Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka found her guilty under Section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 11 of PECA. Along with the death penalty, the court also ordered her to pay a fine of 100,000 rupees.
The case was brought against her by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime unit, following a complaint from a private citizen named Shiraz Ahmed. The woman, who is from the Christian community, was accused of posting blasphemous content about the Holy Prophet (PBUH) on social media in September 2020. The FIA registered the case on July 29, 2021.
Despite being a mother of four, her requests for bail were denied by both the trial court and the Islamabad High Court.
In a separate case, the family of Abdul Ali, who was shot dead while in police custody over blasphemy allegations, has forgiven the police officer responsible. At a press conference, his sons, Muhammad Usman and Muhammad Wali, along with the chief of their tribe, Haji Faizullah Nourzai, condemned the blasphemy that Ali was accused of. They stated that their family and tribe had no connection to his actions.
Usman said, “We have pardoned police officer Saad Muhammad Sarhadi unconditionally, in the name of Allah.” They also declared that they would not take any legal action against the officer, who had been arrested and charged with murder after Ali’s death. Ali was arrested the week before for allegedly making blasphemous remarks that had spread on social media.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed serious concern over the alleged extrajudicial killings of two individuals accused of blasphemy: a hotel owner in Quetta and a doctor in Umarkot. The HRCP described this pattern of violence, often involving law enforcement, as alarming.
The commission called for an independent investigation into the doctor’s death and insisted that those responsible should be held accountable. They also urged the government to address the rising radicalization, much of which has historically been supported by the state, to prevent such incidents from occurring.
