An Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore has sentenced a man, Hanan Abdullah, to two and a half years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs50,000 for learning how to make a bomb through a social media application.
The verdict was announced following the completion of the trial. According to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the convict had been obtaining bomb-making instructions from a foreign online account.
The case was initially flagged by the FBI, which informed Pakistani authorities about the suspect’s online activities.
The government subsequently directed the FIA to conduct a detailed investigation into the matter. During the trial, the FIA presented eight witnesses in court.
The court found Hanan Abdullah guilty of learning to make explosives but noted that the prosecution failed to prove any additional charges beyond that.
The court stated in its verdict that while the maximum sentence for such an offence is ten years, considering the convict’s age and overall circumstances, a lighter sentence of two and a half years was deemed appropriate.
The court also ordered that since Hanan Abdullah was previously out on bail, he should now be taken into custody and transferred to Kot Lakhpat Jail to serve his sentence.
