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19 March 2024

Veena Malik, husband sentenced to 26 years in jail in Pakistan

Pakistani actress Veena Malik with husband Assad Bashir Khattak during an interview with a Pakistani television channel. (Twitter)

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By Correspondent

Pakistan actor Veena Malik, her husband, and the owner of the country's biggest media group, Geo TV, have been sentenced to 26 years in prison by an anti-terrorism court for allegedly airing a blasphemous programme.

READ: Veena Malik's first reaction - upset & shocked

Ever since Geo News was accused of airing blasphemous material on one of its morning shows the channel has taken extraordinary security precautions, including removing its corporate branding from the side of its broadcast trucks.

Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, owner of Geo and Jang group, was accused of allowing the airing of a blasphemous programme by Geo television in May, which played a religious song while staging a mock marriage of Malik with Asad Bashir Khan Khattak.

None of the accused were present in the court at the time of the announcement of the verdict in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Judge Raja Shehbaz Khan also imposed a penalty of 1.3 million Pakistani rupees (about $12,500) each on all the convicts, who have the right to appeal against the judgment, reports Dawn News.

Waqar Ahmad, secretary to the judge, told the media the court ordered the local administration to confiscate properties of the convicts if they did not surrender to the authorities.

All convicts are believed to have gone abroad.