PAKISTAN: FIVE TO HANG FOR BLASPHEMY

A court in Rawalpindi on March 22, 2025 awarded death penalty to five accused, along with life imprisonment and a cumulative sum of Rs6.5 million in fines in a blasphemy case registered against them by the Cyber Crime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
Additional District and Sessions Judge Tariq Ayub pronounced the verdict in the court, which was packed with lawyers and a large number of people. The court declared that the five criminals, Muhammad Arsalan, Ali Abbas, Faisal Rehan, Khurram Afzal and Zunair Sikandar, had been sentenced to death.
The additional district and sessions judge ruled that the convicts had committed a heinous crime and that they did not deserve any concession. After the verdict, the convicts were shifted to the Adiala Jail amid tight security.