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Blasphemy accused not presented before court for 13 years: LHC tells counsel to file another plea for client’s release

Staff Report

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday told a counsel to file another petition for the release of a blasphemy accused Zebunnisa on the ground that she had already undergone her sentence.

The petitioner’s counsel Aftab Bajwa had earlier requested the court to order her release on medical grounds, and that should be admitted to the Social Welfare Centre at the earliest.

The counsel submitted that Mahala Police in Islamabad had registered a case against her under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) in 1996 on the charges of desecrating the holy Quran. She had been in jail since then, he said.

He also submitted that the accused was mentally retarded at the time of the alleged occurrence and was still unwell. He submitted that she was kept in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi and then shifted to Kot Lakhpat Jail for medical treatment. On January 25, 2006, she was shifted to the mental hospital where a medical board also declared her as mentally retarded.

He informed the court that the accused was not produced before any court of law for the last 13 years nor was her trial started. He said the accused had been imprisoned longer than she deserved under the law.

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