Local residents look a spot where a Muslim mob lynched and burned a man over allegations that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book, in Madyan, a town in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Friday, June 21, 2024. A Muslim mob in northwestern Pakistan broke into a police station, snatched a man who was held there and then lynched him over allegations that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Quran.
| Photo Credit: AP

A court in Pakistan sentenced a Christian man to death for sharing what it said was hateful content against Muslims on social media after one of the worst mob attacks on Christians in the eastern Punjab province last year, his lawyer said on July 1, adding he will appeal the verdict.

In August 2023, groups of Muslim men burned dozens of homes and churches in the city of Jaranwala after some residents claimed they saw two Christian men tearing out pages from Islam’s holy book, the Koran, throwing them on the ground and writing insulting remarks on other pages, authorities said. The two men were later arrested.

No casualties were reported at the time as terrified Christians fled their homes to safer areas. Though the police arrested more than 100 suspects following the attacks, it remained unclear if any were convicted.

Ehsan Shan, though not party to the desecration, was accused of reposting the defaced pages of the Koran on his TikTok account, his lawyer Khurram Shahzad told The Associated Press on July 1. He also said he would appeal against the death sentence issued on June 29 by a court in the city of Sahiwal in Punjab province

Amir Farooq, a police officer who arrested Mr. Shan, said the man shared “the hateful content at a sensitive time when authorities were already struggling to contain the violence.”

Naveed Kashif, a local priest at a church in Sahiwal, said while he didn’t excuse what Mr. Shan posted, he wondered “why the court ordered such an extreme verdict when those linked to the attacks are yet to be punished.”

Blasphemy accusations are common in Pakistan. Under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death. While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, often just the accusation can cause riots and incite mobs to violence, lynching and killings.

Earlier this month, 72-year-old Nazir Masih died after he was attacked by an angry mob in May following accusations of blasphemy.

While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation can provoke riots. Image used for representative purpose only.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

A Pakistani court sentenced a 22-year-old student to death and gave a teenager a life sentence in two separate cases after finding them guilty of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, a defence lawyer and officials said on Monday.

Both had denied the charges and have the right to appeal.

Aslam Gujar, a lawyer who represented student Junaid Munir said that the judge in the city of Gujranwala in Punjab province announced the death penalty for his client last week. The trial stemmed from charges brought in 2022 that Mr. Munir shared blasphemous content via WhatsApp.

Also last week, 17-year-old Abdul Hanan was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in a separate case in the same court, according to court documents. Hanan’s lawyer and family were not immediately available for comment.

Munir’s father, Munir Hussain, denied the charge against his son, saying he was in contact with his legal team to file an appeal, as “my son is innocent and he was implicated in a false case.”

Mr. Hussain said by phone that he was living in hiding along with other members of his family.

“I cannot give you any information about my exact location, as some people in our village believe that I should also be killed as I am the father of a boy who allegedly insulted Islam’s prophet,” he said. “We are Muslims. We love our prophet. No Muslim can even imagine to insult our beloved prophet and my son is innocent,” he said.

Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting the religion or religious figures can be sentenced to death. While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation can provoke riots.

Domestic and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and to settle personal scores. In August 2023, Muslims attacked churches and homes of Christians in the city of Jaranwala, in the eastern Punjab province, over allegations that a Christian man had desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Quran. The mob demolished the man’s house, burned churches and damaged dozens of other homes, drawing condemnation from the government and rights groups.

In December 2021, hundreds of people descended on a sports equipment factory in the Sialkot district, killing a Sri Lankan man and burning his body publicly over allegations of blasphemy.

People and members of the media gather along a street in a Christian neighbourhood, a day after the church buildings and houses were vandalised by protesters in Jaranwala, Pakistan on August 17, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Last month’s mob attacks on churches and homes of Christians in eastern Pakistan erupted after three Christians threw the pages of Islam’s holy book outside the house of two others to falsely implicate them in a blasphemy case due to a personal dispute, the police said on Monday.

The three detained suspects confessed to conspiring and throwing Koran pages outside Raja Amir’s house, three police officials said. Amir and his brother had been arrested after they were accused by Muslims of desecrating the Koran.

The suspected mastermind was Pervez Kodu, who thought Amir had an affair with his wife and knew Muslims would target Amir if Kodu had thrown the pages outside his house to give the impression Amir had desecrated the holy book, three police officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media on the record. They said the three men now face charges of causing violence and falsely implicating Amir and his brother in a blasphemy case.

Khalid Mukhtar, a local priest, said he had heard about the arrests of the three men and told The Associated Press that he was trying to get details about the investigations from the police.

At least 17 churches and nearly 100 homes were damaged in the August 16 mob attacks in Jaranwala, a city in Punjab province. There were no casualties but it was one of the most destructive attacks on Christians in the country.

Since then, authorities have repaired most of the churches and handed out thousands of dollars to nearly 100 families whose homes were destroyed or damaged.

The police have also arrested nearly 200 Muslims over involvement in the attacks.

Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam can be sentenced to death. While authorities have yet to carry out capital punishment for blasphemy, often mere accusations can incite mobs to violence and lynching.