Lahore: A Pakistani court has sentenced a Muslim woman to life imprisonment after finding her guilty of burning the pages of the holy book of Islam. A prosecutor gave this information on Friday. Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting religion or religious figures can face the death penalty. However, authorities have not yet imposed the death penalty for blasphemy.
Public prosecutor Mohajib Awais said Aasia Bibi was arrested in 2021 on blasphemy charges. During that time, residents had claimed against the woman that she had insulted them by burning the pages of the Quran. He said Bibi had denied the allegation during his trial. He has the right to appeal in this case. The name of a woman from the Christian community was also Asiya Bibi. He was sentenced to death eight years ago for violating blasphemy laws, but was acquitted in 2019. After her release, she moved to Canada to escape death threats from Islamic extremists.
Domestic and international human rights groups believe blasphemy charges are often used to intimidate religious minorities and to pursue personal vendettas. Another court in Gujranwala in Punjab province in March sentenced a 22-year-old student to death and a teenager to life imprisonment after finding them guilty of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in two separate cases.