Close X
Saturday, November 30, 2024
ADVT 
International

Convert To Islam To Avoid Conviction: Pakistani Prosecutor To Christians

IANS, 30 Mar, 2017 01:06 PM
    A senior Pakistani prosecutor has been accused of blackmailing dozens of Christians after he allegedly asked them to embrace Islam to avoid conviction in the killing of two Muslims in mass violence two years ago.
     
    Violence erupted in Youhanabad Christian neighbourhood of Lahore on March 15, 2015, after suicide blasts targeted Sunday mass in two churches. Some 42 Christians were charged with lynching two Muslim men, suspecting them of involvement in the blasts.
     
    Joseph Franci, a rights activist who is legally assisting the accused, said that Deputy District Public Prosecutor (DDPP) Syed Anees Shah told the accused that they can be acquitted if they renounce Christianity, The Express Tribune reported.
     
    “He told them if they embrace Islam, he can guarantee them their acquittal in this case,” Joseph said.
     
     
    The activist said the accused remained silent and were dumbfounded.
     
    Naseeb Anjum Advocate said that the public prosecutor’s offer was not new and added that he had also given this offer to some of the accused about six months back but they rejected it.
     
    “They believe in independence of the court, but why is the DDPP blackmailing them?” He asked.
     
    “The government should get rid of such elements that bring bad name to the state by such acts.”
     
    Shah, when contacted, said that he did not ask them to embrace Islam, but conceded that he offered them a choice when he was told that the accused have a video recording of what he said, the report said.
     
     
    The minorities in Pakistan in the past have been accusing Muslim clerics of forcibly converting them to Islam but it is for the first time that a state functionary used conversion as an incentive to dodge legal proceeding. 

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Want To Have Deeper Relations With India: White House

    Want To Have Deeper Relations With India: White House
    The Trump administration wants to build a deeper relationship with India, the White House has said, expressing confidence that the two countries will continue to grow their ties.

    Want To Have Deeper Relations With India: White House

    Search-And-Rescue Technician Died After Parachute Drop Malfunction: Military

    Search-And-Rescue Technician Died After Parachute Drop Malfunction: Military
    Master Cpl. Alfred Barr was a member of 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron at 17 Wing in Winnipeg.

    Search-And-Rescue Technician Died After Parachute Drop Malfunction: Military

    ISIS Reportedly Using Telegram Messenger App to Avoid Detection in Pakistan

    ISIS Reportedly Using Telegram Messenger App to Avoid Detection in Pakistan
    The Islamic State militants in Pakistan are dodging authorities by using a messenger app to communicate instead of calling each other to avoid detection, media reported on Friday.

    ISIS Reportedly Using Telegram Messenger App to Avoid Detection in Pakistan

    Canadian Dentist Accused Of Masturbating In Front Of Schoolgirls In Florida

    Canadian Dentist Accused Of Masturbating In Front Of Schoolgirls In Florida
    LAKE WORTH, Fla. — A Canadian dentist is in a Florida jail accused of exposing himself and masturbating in front of girls at a Lake Worth, Fla., school.

    Canadian Dentist Accused Of Masturbating In Front Of Schoolgirls In Florida

    Man, 28, Charged With Breaking Woman's Arms In Road Rage Incident In Edmonton

    Man, 28, Charged With Breaking Woman's Arms In Road Rage Incident In Edmonton
    Police say a 34-year-old woman honked her horn as she was passing a car that was stopped on a residential street where she was trying to make a turn early Tuesday morning.

    Man, 28, Charged With Breaking Woman's Arms In Road Rage Incident In Edmonton

    Mark Zuckerberg, Wife Expecting Second Child, Another Girl

    Mark Zuckerberg, Wife Expecting Second Child,  Another Girl
    PALO ALTO, Calif. — Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife are expecting their second child.

    Mark Zuckerberg, Wife Expecting Second Child, Another Girl