Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The hoax calls were made during the busy Eid celebrations in July

A Pakistani man has been given a 26-year jail term for making two hoax bomb threats in two public places in Punjab province in July, prosecutors say.

The threats were made against a crowded market and children's park in the central city of Multan on the first day of the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr.

Police managed to track the man, named Rana Yousuf, via the sim card he used, which belonged to one of his friends.

They said Yousuf was trying to set up his friend over a business rivalry.

The hoax phone calls led police, bomb disposal experts and emergency workers to rush to the scene and search the area for several hours before discovering the warnings were fake.

Over 2,000 people were gathered in Shams park at the time of the call, Pakistan's Express Tribune reports.

The other man, whose sim card was used, was reportedly cleared of all charges due to lack of evidence.

In addition to the jail term, Yousuf was also fined 100,000 Pakistani rupees ($993; £638).