Actress Veena Malik Sentenced To 26 Years In Jail For "Blasphemous Content"

A Pakistani actress has been sentenced to 26 years in prison for blasphemy after appearing in a mock TV wedding. Veena Malik took part in the staged marriage on a morning show while musicians sang a devotional song about the wedding of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter. Her husband, Asad Bashir Khan, and the chief of the country's biggest media group, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, were also handed 26-year jail terms.

Mrs Malik, who has recently given birth to a baby boy, spoke of her anger and disbelief after the verdict was handed down by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court. '26 years! Come on. 26 years is a lifetime... but I have faith in higher courts in Pakistan,' she said in an interview with a tabloid, according Gulf News. 'When the final verdict comes, it will do justice to me. Nothing bad is going to happen.' 

Judges have ordered the police to execute the court order in the city of Gilgit, which is controlled by Pakistan, but part of the Kashmir region which India also claims. 'The malicious acts of the proclaimed offenders ignited the sentiments of all the Muslims of the country and hurt the feelings, which cannot be taken lightly and there is need to strictly curb such tendency,' the order said.

Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, owner of Geo and TV host Shaista Wahidi have also been sentenced to 26 years in prison along with Malik and her husband, and all four have also been slapped with a fine of 1.3 million Pakistani rupees, according to Press Trust of India.

The four people convicted were also ordered to pay a fine of 1.3million rupees (£8,000), sell their properties and surrender their passports, according to a copy of the court order. The broadcast by Geo TV set off a storm of controversy on social media, though similar routines by other channels in the past have largely gone unnoticed.

Many observers at the time suspected Pakistan's military establishment of engineering the blasphemy campaign against Geo TV. The channel was then caught up in a struggle with the all-powerful military.

Credits: Geo TV / Getty Images / Mailonline