Sheikhupura court sentences three Ahmadis to death for alleged blasphemy: report

A court in Sheikhupura district has sentenced three members of the Ahmadi community to death for allegedly committing blasphemy.

According to Al Jazeera, the men were convicted under the country’s controversial blasphemy law on Wednesday for allegedly insulting the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Quoting Saleemuddin, the spokesperson for Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, the media outlet identified the men as Mubasher Ahmad, Ghulam Ahmed and Ehsan Ahmed who were taken into custody in May 2014 after they allegedly tore down religious posters in Bhoiwal village, about 22 kilometres south of Lahore.

During the trial, the accused maintained that the posters had anti-Ahmadi slogans on them, however, the prosecutor claimed that they carried religious significance and that tearing them was equivalent to insulting the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

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According the community spokesperson, Khalil Ahmed, a fourth accused, was shot and killed in police custody just days after the incident took place.

Earlier this week, MNA Capt (retd) Safdar, the son-in-law of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif launched a rant against the community in the National Assembly and called for a ban on hiring them in the armed forces and other important institutions of the country.

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