Death penalty for Christian man over blasphemy
Lahore, July 1: A Pakistani court has sentenced a Christian man to death for posting a “blasphemous post” on social media which triggered a mob attack, causing the burning of dozens of Churches and houses of members belonging to the minority community in Punjab province last year, officials said on Monday. Anti-Terrorism Court Special Judge (Sahiwal) Ziaullah Khan pronounced the death sentence on Saturday against Ahsan Raja Masih and imposed a fine of Rs one million on him. He was also handed down a total of 22 years of imprisonment under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). (PTI)
Three killed in Pak explosion
Karachi, July 1: Two children and a woman were killed in a roadside bomb explosion in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Monday. A Levies paramilitary official said that the bomb planted on the roadside in the Geban area of Turbat was detonated by a remote control. “When the bomb detonated, the woman and two children who were passing through the area were killed in the explosion,” he said.The official said it appeared that the detonation went wrong as the target was the vehicles of security forces. (PTI)
18 inmates flee from jail in PoK, one shot
Islamabad, July 1: At least 18 dangerous criminals, including six on death row, fled from a prison in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after overpowering a guard, officials said on Monday. The incident took place on Friday when an inmate of the Rawalakot prison used a pistol to force a prison guard to get the keys to effect the breakout. According to a police official, of the 18 prisoners who escaped, six were on death row and another three were serving life sentences. Another prisoner was shot dead while escaping, the official said, adding that he was serving a five-year sentence. Police have launched a massive search operation in the area. (PTI)
Hurricane Beryl restrengthens to Category 4
San Juan, July 1: Beryl has restrengthened into an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane. The National Hurricane Centre in Miami said the storm was located about 70 miles (125 kilometers) east of Grenada on Monday morning and had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph). Hurricane Beryl was closing in on the southeastern Caribbean, and government officials late Sunday pleaded with people to take shelter from the dangerous Category 3 storm. The storm was expected to make landfall in the Windward Islands on Monday morning. Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “This is a very dangerous situation,” warned the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami, saying Beryl was “forecast to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge”. (AP)