Jaranwala incident: Main accused sentenced to death for blasphemy

FAISALABAD: A special court has sentenced the main accused in the Jaranwala riots case to death for blasphemy, ARY News reported on Saturday.

After a two-year trial, the court found Pervaiz guilty of blasphemy. In addition to the death sentence, he was also sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 3.5 million.

The special court acquitted the other two accused, Shahid Aftab and Dawood William, in the case.

Pervaiz Masih had attempted to frame his two rivals, a father and son from his own community, by placing their photographs alongside torn pages from the Quran, creating the false impression that they had desecrated the holy book.

The incident sparked widespread unrest in Jaranwala, leading to a mob attack that vandalized multiple churches and set fire to homes belonging to the Christian community in Faisalabad.

The then Caretaker Prime Minister (PM) Anwaarul Haq Kakar vowed that perpetrators of the Jaranwala incident will be brought to justice to prevent such acts in the future.

The prime minister expressed these views during a meeting with a delegation of the Christian community that called on him. Caretaker Minister for Human Rights Khalil George and other relevant authorities were also present during the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, PM Kakar reiterated that minorities enjoyed equal rights in Pakistan and assured them of complete protection of their rights and security.

The prime minister said that responsible for Jaranwala incident would be made an example so that certain incidents would not occur in future.

He also asked the minorities to give proposals of their issues and problems to the government so that these could be resolved.

The prime minister also called upon all the segments of society to play their role in the elimination of extremism.