Peshawar: A Muslim man named Syed Muhammad Zeeshan was sentenced to death in a blasphemy case by an anti-terrorism court in Peshawar on Friday. The court found him guilty of sharing blasphemous content in a WhatsApp group.

Zeeshan was convicted under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act and Anti-Terrorist Act by a Peshawar court. The court has also sentenced Zeeshan to 23 years in prison and a fine of 1.2 million rupees. However, Zeeshan has the right to appeal the decision.

According to reports, the case was registered with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) two years ago by Muhammed Saeed, Talagang in Punjab province. During investigation, the FIA officials had taken away his mobile phone and its forensic examination proved Zeeshan guilty.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan. The convicts in blasphemy cases carry death sentences, however, the sentences were never carried out for the offense thus far. As per statistics, almost equal number of over 700 Muslims and members of minority religious groups were accused of blasphemy in the last two decades.

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