RAWALPINDI – Four Pakistani citizens have been convicted by an anti-terrorism court for sharing blasphemous content on social media.
Additional Sessions Judge of ATC Muhammad Tariq Ayub in case 8/2021 found Rana Usman, Ashfaq Ali, Salman Sajjad, and Wajid Ali guilty under Section 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including 295-A, 295-B, 295-C – that criminalizes sharing any blasphemous statement against Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
The court also slapped the culprits with a 10-year prison sentence and a fine of Rs 1 million. This case was lodged three years back amid growing concern over the misuse of digital platforms to incite religious discord in Muslim majority country.
Rana Usman, Ashfaq, Salman, and Wajid faced trial for sharing blasphemous content on several Facebook pages and groups.
The ruling serves as a stern reminder of the legal consequences for using social media to spread divisive content and incite violence.
