3 women sentenced for killing teacher on blasphemy charge

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A local court on Monday handed down a death sentence to two students of a seminary and life imprisonment to another for killing a teacher after accusing her of blasphemy.

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge-II, Muhammad Jamil, also imposed a fine of Rs2 million on the former convicts each and Rs1 million on the latter.The court awarded the sentences observing that the prosecution had proved its case.

The police had arrested the convicts soon after the incident.According to the prosecution, the convicts identified as Razia Hanifa, Ayesha Nauman, daughters of Allah Nawaz and Umra Aman, daughter of Deen Badshah, had attacked Safoora Bibi with knives and clubs when she arrived at the seminary.

The first information report said the assailants beheaded the teacher with sharp objects at the doorstep of the seminary.Zahid, son of Laal Shah, belonging to Mahsud tribe in South Waziristan district, had lodged the report that his niece Safoora Bibi, 21, was working as a teacher at Jamia Islamia Falahul Banaat. The three women from the same seminary had slaughtered her for alleged blasphemy.

In their preliminary statements, the convicts had told the police that their 13-year-old female relative had seen a dream at night in which she had found out about the alleged blasphemy committed by the victim and was subsequently ordered to slaughter her.