Man shot dead in court was US citizen

PESHAWAR: A man who was killed on the charges of blasphemy in a court in Peshawar on Wednesday was a US citizen.

It was learnt the deceased Tahir Ahmad Naseem was a US citizen and the American authorities had condemned the incident. “We extend our condolences to the family of Tahir Naseem, the American citizen who was killed inside a courtroom in Pakistan. We urge Pakistan to take immediate action and pursue reforms that will prevent such a shameful tragedy from happening again,” said a tweet of the State Department Bureau of the South and Central Asian Affairs. Tahir Ahmad Naseem of Achini had come for attending a hearing in the local court when a young man from Board Bazaar opened fire on him. He was killed on the spot. The accused, Khalid, and according to some reports, Faisal, was arrested by the cops present in the court. The accused even after his arrest said the deceased had committed blasphemy and he was an enemy of Islam and Pakistan and that is why he had killed him.

Tahir Ahmad was accused of blasphemy and was arrested by the Sarband Police in April 2018 after a first information report was registered against him.