The
intellectually disabled Pakistani-American man, Tahir Naseem, was shot on
Wednesday in the north-western city of Peshawar as a hearing on blasphemy
charges against him was underway.
Pakistan has
formed a special team to investigate the killing of a Pakistani-American, who
was shot dead inside a courtroom during his controversial blasphemy trial.
“A special
team has been constituted to investigate the case,” the Foreign Ministry said on
Saturday after the U.S. State Department called for justice for the American
citizen.
Tahir who is
from Illinois, had been in a Pakistani jail since 2018 on blasphemy charges
after he claimed to be a prophet.
The State
Department had urged Pakistan to pursue reforms “that will prevent such
shameful tragedy again.”
“Naseem had
been lured to Pakistan by individuals, who then used Pakistan’s blasphemy laws
to entrap him,” State Department deputy spokesman Cale Brown said, without
giving details.
“We urge
Pakistan to immediately reform its often abused blasphemy laws and its court
system,” Brown added.
The alleged
killer, a young man in his early 20s, was arrested and remanded in police
custody by an anti-terrorism court on Thursday.
He told
police that the Muslim prophet Mohammed appeared in his dream and ordered him
to kill the man because he was the follower of the Ahmadiya faith,
investigation officer Ijaz Ahmed told DPA.
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