Blasphemy convict acquitted by Pak court after 11 years

Islamabad [Pakistan], December 9 : A Pakistan court has acquitted a man after 11 years after it set aside life imprisonment awarded to him by a trial court on charges of blasphemy.
The convict had been in jail for 11 years, The Express Tribune reported.
The Pakistani publication said that no lawyer pleaded the convict's case at the trial court stage. According to the report, a state counsel pleaded the case but soon he stopped appearing on his behalf.
Later, the accused decided to plead his case himself but he could not protect himself from the charges.
While observing loopholes in the case, the Pakistani court said that it did not seem to be premised upon substantial grounds.
"It seems that something is behind this matter," Justice Shehram Sarwar observed. The court allowed the convict's appeal and the decision of the trial court was set aside, the Tribune report added.
This case comes to light amid ongoing outrage over the killing of a Sri Lankan factory manager, over alleged blasphemy. Last week, a mob in Pakistan's Sialkot had tortured Diyawadana to death before burning his body in Sialkot.
Highlighting the grim reality of "spiralling radicalisation" in the country, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had condemned the killing of the Sri Lankan man on "flimsy allegations of blasphemy".
Pakistan continues to be a cause of concern for rights activists in the country. Pakistan has registered thousands of blasphemy cases, which are mostly against religious minorities like Hindus, Christians, Shia and Ahmadiya Muslims from 1987 till today, according to several reports by rights groups.
A large number of these blasphemy cases in Pakistan are still awaiting justice.