Pak court overturns death sentence of Muslim woman in blasphemy case

Lahore, Oct 30 (PTI) A Muslim woman, sentenced to death in a high-profile blasphemy case, has been acquitted by a Pakistani court, which cited serious procedural deficiencies in the prosecution's case, a court official said on Thursday.

Aniqa Atiq was sentenced to death by a special court of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Rawalpindi in January 2022 for allegedly sending blasphemous messages to complainant Hasanat Farooq.

On Farooq's complaint, the FIA had arrested Aniqa in 2020.

"The Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench on Wednesday overturned the conviction after hearing her appeal," the court official told PTI.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Chaudhry Waheed noted that the prosecution had failed to prove the case against the accused, the official added.

Aniqa is said to be the first Muslim woman and the third woman overall to be sentenced to death in a blasphemy case. The other two -- Aasia Bibi and Shagufta Bibi - belong to the Christian community.

Aasia Bibi's case attracted the world's attention, and in 2018, she was acquitted and subsequently managed to leave Pakistan for Europe.

During the appeal hearing, Aniqa's counsel Saiful Malook argued that the case against her was baseless as the Cyber Crime Wing of FIA at the time had not obtained any forensic evidence to support the charges.

He said that although the blasphemy case was registered in April 2020, it was filed 10 days after the alleged incident, and the authorities never even seized the accused's mobile phone.

"The court also expressed concern over FIA's handling of blasphemy cases, noting that the agency itself fails to follow the legal procedures prescribed in the law," the official said.

Justice Khan asked the prosecution whether a forensic analysis of Aniqa's phone had been conducted, and he was informed that “the mobile phone in question did not belong to the accused but to another woman, and therefore it was not sent for forensic examination.” The judge then asked whether the woman who owned the mobile phone or SIM card had been named as a co-accused in the case, to which the prosecution replied in the negative.

The judge observed: “When there is no evidence on record against the accused, how could she have been sentenced to death?” Justice Khan further questioned complainant Farooq, saying, “How could a man remain in contact for one and a half years with a woman (Aniqa) with whom he had no religious connection?” The court subsequently accepted Aniqa's appeal against her death sentence and ordered her acquittal.

Blasphemy cases in Pakistan have been on the rise, with a significant increase noted since 2022, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

"This rise is linked to the exploitation of blasphemy laws for personal gain and land disputes, particularly through online accusations on social media. The number of registered cases surged dramatically, from 9 in 2021 to at least 475 in 2024, and individuals are increasingly being trapped by fabricated online content to be extorted or blackmailed," it says. PTI MZ ZH ZH