Actress Veena Malik Sentenced To 26 Years In Jail For "Blasphemous Content"

Along with Malik, her husband, the owner of Geo TV, and the anchor of the show against which the claim was made have also been sentenced to jail time and a fine of 1.3 million Pakistani rupees each.

Actress Veena Malik, along with the owner of Geo TV, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, has been sentenced to 26 years in prison.

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A Pakistani anti-terrorism court presented the sentence, accusing the media organisation of airing "blasphemous content" on one of its programmes.

DNA reported that the charges, subsequent arrest, and sentencing occurred as Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was accused of allowing the telecast of a staged mock marriage between Malik and her husband Asad Bashir, while a religious song was played in the background.

As reported by CNN-IBN, along with Malik, Bashir, and Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, TV host Shaista Wahidi was also convicted of the crime and given a 26-year prison sentence.

The ATC has also imposed a 1.3 million Pakistani rupee fine to all those convicted, and ordered that their properties be sold off in order to pay the fine.

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In a report by CNN-IBN, a court official said that the convicts can raise an appeal in the regional high court, located in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The report goes on to state that all four accused have left Pakistan, as they were receiving threats by militant organisations. It is still unclear where the final arrests will be made.

Although Wahidi and the Geo group have presented apologies, it was reported that the country's extremists have refused to accept them.

Recently, there was a similar situation in India when a Delhi Court pulled the plug on Comedy Central for "unsuitable content".

NDTV / Via ndtv.com

According to NDTV, on Monday, the Delhi High Court ordered the comedy channel to stop broadcasting for 10 days, as well as imposed a fine of 20,000 rupees payable to the centre. The channel reportedly negotiated the suspension from air, and will be off the air for at least six days.