With an axe, Pakistani cop kills man acquitted of blasphemy charges after three years

RAHIM YAR KHAN – A police constable in Punjab province killed a man who acquitted of blasphemy charges after the High Court overruled the lower court’s decision after three years, BBC Urdu reported Saturday.

The report quoted SHO Rana Muhammad Ashraf cited that the constable Abdul Qadir was a fresh recruit in Punjab police and was under training. He further told the British news that the accused surrendered shortly after committing the murder and further investigations are underway.

The police officer further told that Qadir was planning to assassinate the man from 2016, but he waited as the man was behind bars for years.

The report further added that the deceased was sentenced for sharing blasphemous sketches on social media. However, he challenged the lower court's verdict in the upper court and was recently acquitted.

On Wednesday, an anti-terrorism court in Sargodha awarded death to a man for killing the manager of a bank over blasphemy allegations last year.