LAHORE: Additional Sessions Judge Lahore Nusrat Ali Siddiqui on Thursday sentenced Qadiani accused Shiraz Ahmed to 17 years imprisonment and a fine under various sections of the Lahore Cyber Crime Case No. C-88/2019.

Shiraz Ahmed was sentenced to seven years in jail and a fine of Rs100,000 under Section 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, seven years imprisonment and a fine of Rs100,000 under Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), and three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs50,000 under Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The court made it clear that the prison sentences would continue concurrently.

In the verdict, the accused Shiraz Ahmad Qadiani was acquitted of the charges under Sections 295-B, 295-C and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The court also gave the accused the right to file an appeal in the Lahore High Court within 30 days.

Zaheer Ahmed, the second Qadiani accused in the case, was sentenced to three years in jail for preaching Qadianiyat.

According to sources, Zaheer Ahmad Qadiani has been a member of the Human Rights Commission and secretary of the foreign affairs department of the Qadiani Jamaat Pakistan.

Usman Karimuddin Advocate represented the Qadiani accused while Sheikh Nawaz Advocate represented the plaintiff.

Senior analyst Dr. Hassan Rana told KTV News about this important news

We see that the members of the Qadiani Jamaat continue to deliberately violate the Constitution, laws and Supreme Court decisions of Pakistan on a large scale. I will also be helpful in maintaining law and order.

The law enforcement agencies should also take effective legal action against other law-abiding Qadiani elements on this occasion. As we can see, there are widespread violations of the laws of the Qadianiyat Prohibition Ordinance by the Qadianis in Lahore alone, one of the biggest examples of which is the illegal Islamic rituals made on the Qadiani worship in Garhi Shahu Lahore, which have been brought to the attention of the administration, police and other relevant state agencies, but so far no legal action has been taken against it. No action was taken. I would appeal to the state institutions to make the Qadianis not only in Lahore but all over Pakistan abide by the constitution, law and judicial decisions and take prompt and effective legal action against the law-breaking Qadiani elements.