A PAKISTANI man has been handed a death sentence over a Facebook post.

Taimoor Raza was on Saturday found guilty of committing blasphemy via the social media outlet, leading to the first conviction on charges over social media.

Judge Shabbir Ahmad Awan handed down the verdict in Bahawalpur, about 600 kilometres south of capital Islamabad, finding Taimoor Raza guilty of insulting the prophet Mohammed, a prosecutor Shafiq Qureshi told AFP.

Raza, a minority Shiite Muslim, had a Facebook argument about Islam with someone who turned out to be a counter-terrorism department official, defence lawyer Rana Fida Hussain told AFP.

He was arrested last year for allegedly posting derogatory content about Sunni Muslim religious leaders and the wives of the Prophet Mohammed on Facebook.

The official brought charges against Raza based on the comments made on the social networking site.

The charges followed a complaint he was showing onlookers “objectionable material” on his mobile phone at a bus station, AP reported.

Mr Hussain said his client was innocent and that he would appeal the conviction.

Pakistan is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country and the rivalry between Shiite and Sunni Muslims dates back to the seventh century when they had a disagreement who should be the heir to Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.

Under Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting God, Islam or other religious personalities can be sentenced to death.

Blasphemy is a sensitive charge in conservative Muslim Pakistan, where even unproven allegations can trigger mob lynchings and violence.

Pakistan last year arrested 15 people, 10 Muslims and five non-Muslims, on blasphemy charges, according to a report issued by the independent rights group Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

A 10-year-old boy was killed and five others were wounded last month when a mob attacked a police station in an attempt to lynch a Hindu man charged with blasphemy for allegedly posting an incendiary image on social media.

In January 2011, a provincial governor was shot and killed by his police guard who accused him of blasphemy after he criticised the law and defended a Christian woman sentenced to death under the law.

In recent months, the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif launched a campaign to rid social media of any content considered insulting to Islam, at least any posted by Pakistanis.

The government petitioned Facebook and Twitter to identify Pakistanis worldwide posting material considered offensive to Islam so that Pakistani authorities can prosecute them or pursue their extradition on charges of blasphemy, tantamount to a death sentence.

Millions of Pakistanis have been receiving text messages from the government warning them against sharing “blasphemous” content online, a move rights activists have said would encourage more vigilante attacks.