Two lawyers defending a university lecturer accused of blasphemy in Multan on Wednesday abandoned the case after receiving life threats.
Muddassir Sagheer and Haq Nawaz, the lawyers defending Bahauddin Zakariya University lecturer Junaid Hafeez, have also asked for police protection following the threats.
Hafeez has been accused of publishing blasphemous material on Facebook.
Talking to The Express Tribune Sagheer said, “We have taken the decision to leave the case…our family and relatives want to see us alive.”
He said their families had formed not to pursue the case. “From Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, to Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Sipaha-i-Sahaba, my colleague and I, have been receiving death threats from every militant religious organisation,” said Sagheer.
A hearing is scheduled for June 20.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2013.