PAKISTAN: DOUBLE DEATH SENTENCE TO WOMAN IN ABDUCTION CASE

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan’s Punjab province awarded two death sentences to a woman who posed as a television anchor to kidnap a government official for ransom.
Judge Masood Arshad of the court in Faisalabad convicted Rashida Begum, a resident of the provincial capital of Lahore, for kidnapping former Tehsil Municipal Officer Nusrat Aman along with two accomplices.
Prosecutors said Rashida Begum telephoned Aman and introduced herself as an anchor of a private news channel. She asked Aman to meet her, saying she had some information about his alleged involvement in corruption.
When Aman met her, she and her accomplices kidnapped him.
Aman was released after the kidnappers were paid Rs 4 million as ransom. The judge awarded the death sentence to Rashida Begum each the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The court directed authorities to confiscate her property.
Police recently arrested another accused in the case a few days ago while other suspects involved in the case are still at large, officials said.