Pakistan gives hoax bomb culprit 26 years

3 Jan SRK News

A Pakistani court has sentenced a man accused of making two false bomb threats in the country’s Punjab province to 26 years in jail.

Rana Yousuf carried out the threats in July in a busy market place and the Shams children’s park in the central city of Multan on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, authorities say.

Pakistani police found the culprit by tracking down a SIM card that he used. It belonged to one of his friends,The false threats brought Police bomb disposal squads and other emergency workers to both scenes, but after hours of investigation they found out that the threats were both hoaxes.

Apart from the jail term, Yousuf was fined 100,000 Pakistani rupees (993 US dollars). Due to lack of evidence, the person whose SIM card was used by Yousuf was reportedly cleared of all charges.

According to authorities, the threats were an attempt by Yousuf to set up his friend because of a business rivalry between the two.

The Pakistani government has been handing out severe sentences for terrorism related crimes since Taliban attacked a school in Peshawar where over 140 people, including 132 children, were killed.