4 get death penalty for Lahore blast in Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan

A Pakistani court on Wednesday convicted four people for their involvement in a bombing in the northeastern city of Lahore last year, handing them the death penalty on nine counts, a court record and local media reported.

The verdict was announced by a single-judge Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in a heavily defended jail in Lahore, where the trial was held for "security reasons."

A fifth suspect, the wife of one of the convicts, was sentenced to five years in jail for abetment in the crime, defense attorney Fida Hussain Rana told Anadolu Agency.

The convicts include Peter Paul, a Pakistani Christian who, according to the prosecution, was involved in the planning of the terrorist attack.

Four people were killed and another 24 injured in the blast near the residence of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the incarcerated leader of the banned Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD) group, in Lahore's Jauhar Town neighborhood in June last year.

Pakistan accused the Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), of planning and executing the blast. New Delhi, however, has denied the charge.

According to the prosecution, the culprits had links with the RAW, which they denied while pleading not guilty.

The defense attorney said he intends to challenge the verdict.

In 2020, an anti-terrorism court sentenced Hafiz Saeed to 11 years in jail in two terror-financing cases.