<p>Karachi: A Pakistani court has sentenced a man to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for blasphemy after he allegedly declared himself to be a prophet.</p>.<p>An additional district judge on Tuesday sentenced the accused, whose name or faith was not disclosed, after a trial conducted inside the central jail in Hyderabad in Sindh province.</p>.<p>The judge also imposed a fine of half a million rupees on the convicted man.</p>.<p>The judge said the sentence was awarded on the basis of mitigating circumstances. At the same time, he said no concrete proof was found for awarding him a death sentence.</p>.'Breaking down walls', destroying 'evidence': BJP slams renovation near murder spot at R G Kar Hospital.<p>The accused was arrested under the blasphemy law after a man named Mahboob Ali lodged a complaint at the Mirpur Sakro police station against him.</p>.<p>The complainant said that on April 1, 2018, the accused declared himself to be a prophet in his presence.</p>.<p>He produced four people as witnesses in the case.</p>.<p>Pakistan's blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam. Critics say they have been used to persecute minority faiths and unfairly target minorities.</p>.<p>This week, two Muslim women were booked under blasphemy charges for allegedly burning pages of the Quran in Pakistan's Punjab province.</p>.Army officer, terrorist killed in encounter in Jammu and Kashmir.<p>Last week, Punjab police said they had booked two young Christian sisters under blasphemy charges against them.</p>.<p>Last October, a Senate committee on Human Rights was told that 215 individuals had been arrested in 2023 under the blasphemy law with the highest number of 78 arrests made in Sindh.</p>.<p>The committee was also informed that there are recorded incidents of individuals using the blasphemy law to settle personal enmities and other disputes.</p>
<p>Karachi: A Pakistani court has sentenced a man to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for blasphemy after he allegedly declared himself to be a prophet.</p>.<p>An additional district judge on Tuesday sentenced the accused, whose name or faith was not disclosed, after a trial conducted inside the central jail in Hyderabad in Sindh province.</p>.<p>The judge also imposed a fine of half a million rupees on the convicted man.</p>.<p>The judge said the sentence was awarded on the basis of mitigating circumstances. At the same time, he said no concrete proof was found for awarding him a death sentence.</p>.'Breaking down walls', destroying 'evidence': BJP slams renovation near murder spot at R G Kar Hospital.<p>The accused was arrested under the blasphemy law after a man named Mahboob Ali lodged a complaint at the Mirpur Sakro police station against him.</p>.<p>The complainant said that on April 1, 2018, the accused declared himself to be a prophet in his presence.</p>.<p>He produced four people as witnesses in the case.</p>.<p>Pakistan's blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam. Critics say they have been used to persecute minority faiths and unfairly target minorities.</p>.<p>This week, two Muslim women were booked under blasphemy charges for allegedly burning pages of the Quran in Pakistan's Punjab province.</p>.Army officer, terrorist killed in encounter in Jammu and Kashmir.<p>Last week, Punjab police said they had booked two young Christian sisters under blasphemy charges against them.</p>.<p>Last October, a Senate committee on Human Rights was told that 215 individuals had been arrested in 2023 under the blasphemy law with the highest number of 78 arrests made in Sindh.</p>.<p>The committee was also informed that there are recorded incidents of individuals using the blasphemy law to settle personal enmities and other disputes.</p>