CHITRAL, Nov 14: Additional district and sessions judge, Chitral Azhar Ali Khan on Wednesday awarded the capital punishment to Hazrat Ali Shah of Barenis village after conviction for blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Mr Shah was booked under sub-sections 295 (a), (b) and (c) of Pakistan Penal Code Section 295 on March 10, 2011 for making sacrilegious remarks against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The people of Barenis village had filed a complaint with police against him.

Scores of villagers appeared before the court as witnesses.

Relatives, including mother and brother, have announced to dissociate themselves with Mr Shah over the remarks against Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

The court also awarded him Rs0.1 million fine and 10 years rigorous imprisonment.

In the case, the prosecution was represented by Javed Hussain Mughal.

Former district public prosecutor Asmat Essa Khan told Dawn that the sub-section (c) of PPC Section 295 entailed capital punishment, while the sub-section (a) led to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims by disparaging their religious entities.

He said it was the first time in Chitral that a man had been booked for blasphemy and punished by the court afterconviction.

PPP LEADERS COMPLAIN AGAINST LEADERSHIP: The former tehsil and union council nazims affiliated with Pakistan People’s Party on Wednesday asked their leadership to step in to keep the party from falling into ruin.

Addressing a news conference here, former tehsil nazim Sartaj Ahmad Khan and union council nazims Riaz Ahmad Khan, Ameerullah, Wazir Khan, Abdul Bari and Kashafat Younas said the party’s district leadership had miserably failed to deliver to the misery of the workers.

They said instead of using his official clout as the provincial minister for the welfare of workers, PPP district president Salim Khan was pursuing own interests.

The nazims also criticised Mr Salim for failing to convene the party workers’ convention at district level and re-organise the party at union council level over the last four years.

They said PPP would suffer defeat in the next elections if its current district set-up stayed put.

The nazims said the district was a stronghold of PPP but the inefficient and corrupt leadership had led to its fall.

They urged the provincial president of PPP to dissolve the district cabinet without delay and visit the district to re-organise the party.