An anti-narcotics court in Pakistan on Wednesday sentenced to death the chief executive and editor-in-chief of English daily Frontier Post on drug smuggling charges. The Special Judge of Anti-Narcotics Court, Syed Kazim Raza Shamsi, awarded death sentence to Rehmat Shah Afridi of the 'Frontier Post', which resumed publication a few days ago after it was closed down early this year.
The newspaper published from Peshawar city in North-West Frontier Province, close to Afghanistan border, was banned after it published a letter from a Jew making blasphemous remarks against Prophet Mohammad. Following the publication, the offices of the newspaper were sealed by the Government and later burnt by Islamic fundamentalist groups. Afridi was in prison at that time.
Imposing the death sentence, the judge also slapped a fine of Pakistani Rupees one million each on Afridi in two different cases relating to drug trafficking. In case of non-payment of the fine, Afridi will have to further undergo a two-year imprisonment in each case. Afridi, who has denied the charges, can file appeal against the verdict within seven days.
Afridi was arrested in April 1999 on charges of drug trafficking after authorities claimed to have recovered 21 kgs of hashish from his car. Some 700 kgs of hashish were later said to have been found in a truck that belonged to him. Bureau Report