Killing of Tahir Naseem

On 29 July 2020, Tahir Ahmad Naseem, an American citizen from Illinois, was shot and killed in a courtroom in Peshawar, Pakistan. Naseem, who had been in police custody since 2018, was accused of having committed blasphemy by claiming to be a prophet, a criminal offence under the Pakistan Penal Code.[1]

Killing of Tahir Naseem
Location of Peshawar District, within the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
DateJuly 29, 2020 (2020-07-29)
Timec. 11:30 a.m. (PKT)
LocationPeshawar, Pakistan
TypeHomicide
Participants
  • Tahir Naseem (deceased)
  • Faisal Khan (shooter)

Background

Naseem was born in Pakistan to members of the Ahmadiyya sect, an Islamic revival movement.[2] His family moved to the United States in the late 1970s when Naseem was a teenager after the Constitution of Pakistan declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims.[3] He became a naturalised citizen and later worked as a school bus driver.[4]

According to the United States Department of State, Naseem was lured to Pakistan from his home in Illinois by individuals who then used Pakistan's blasphemy laws to entrap him. The U.S. Government had been providing consular assistance to Naseem and his family since his detention in 2018 and had called the attention of senior Pakistani officials to his case to prevent the type of act that eventually occurred.[5][6]

Incident

Naseem was shot 6 times by Faisal Khan, a 21-year old local resident. Naseem was a former member of the Ahmadi sect.[7][8] According to the official spokesman for the Ahmadi community in Pakistan, Naseem had previously renounced his affiliation with the Ahmadi community and embraced Sunni Islam.[9] His death spurred thousands in support of his killer to rally in Peshawar.[10]

In September 2020, the Peshawar High Court had declared the prime accused a juvenile and ordered his trial be tried under the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018.[11] The prime accused, who was stated to be aged 17 years at the time, and the two co-accused in the case, cleric Wasiullah and a junior lawyer Tufail Zia were facing a trial inside the Central Prison Peshawar.[11]

See also

References
  1. Hashim, Asad (July 29, 2020). "Man shot dead for 'blasphemy' in Pakistan courtroom". Al Jazeera. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  2. Inayat, Naila (February 24, 2021). "After Losing Her Father to Blasphemy, a Daughter Fights for Justice". Vice News. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  3. Kohari, Alizeh (August 3, 2021). "How social media became a deadly trap for a minority group in Pakistan". Rest of World. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  4. Graham-Harrison, Emma (August 30, 2020). "'He was such a kind soul': daughter's fight for US man killed at Pakistan blasphemy trial". The Guardian. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  5. "Killing of Tahir Naseem". United States Department of State. July 30, 2020.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. Hollingsworth, Julia; Raja, Adeel (July 31, 2020). "US national shot dead in Pakistan courtroom during blasphemy trial". CNN. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  7. "Pakistan blasphemy: Gunman shoots accused dead in court". BBC. July 29, 2020.
  8. Masood, Salman (July 30, 2020). "American Accused of Blasphemy Is Killed in Pakistan Courtroom". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  9. "Man Killed in Pakistani Court on Blasphemy Charges Was US Citizen | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. July 30, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  10. Gannon, Kathy (July 31, 2020). "Thousands rally in Pakistan in support of killer of American". Jacksonville Journal-Courier. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  11. "'Killer' of blasphemy accused to be tried by PHC under juvenile law". DAWN. April 21, 2023.


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