A US citizen accused of violating Pakistan’s blasphemy laws was shot dead in court.
Tahir Ahmad Naseem, 57, had been tried at the Peshawar Peshawar Judicial Complex on charges that he had claimed to be a prophet, when he was shot six times. The shooter was identified by authorities as a 19-year-old local man named “Faisal”.
The United States urged Pakistan on Thursday to revise the harsh law, which critics say often persecutes members of religious minorities, according to the New York Times.
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Naseem had been lured to Pakistan from Illinois by people who wanted to catch him using Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, according to the State Department. Conular officers had been working with Naseem and his family since he was detained there in 2018.
“We are sorry for Mr. Naseem’s family,” he said. Cale Brown, spokesperson for the State Department. “We urge Pakistan to immediately reform its blasphemy laws and its judicial system, which are often abused, allowing such abuses to occur, and to ensure that the suspect is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
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Ahmad Naseem had been a member of the Ahmadi sect, which was declared heretical under the Pakistani Constitution, according to the Times, but left the group and claimed to be the messiah.
He was accused of blasphemy in 2018.