Taimoor Raza has been sentenced to death

A Pakistani man has been sentenced to death for making a derogatory remark about the Prophet Mohammad in a Facebook post.

A counter-terrorism court has sentenced Taimoor Raza, 30, to be executed after finding him guilty of committing blasphemy online.

It is the first time anybody has been handed the death penalty for blaspheming on social media and follows a high-profile crackdown by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Blasphemy is a highly sensitive topic in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where insulting the Prophet Mohammad is a capital crime for which dozens are sitting on death row.

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

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.

The country has never executed anyone convicted of blasphemy, but the mere accusation is enough to ignite mob violence or lynching in the deeply conservative country.

Right groups say the harsh blasphemy laws are often used to settle personal scores.

Shafiq Qureshi, public prosecutor in Bahawalpur (pictured), about 300 miles (500km) south of provincial capital Lahore, said Raza was convicted for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad, his wives and companions

Shafiq Qureshi, public prosecutor in Bahawalpur, about 300 miles (500km) south of provincial capital Lahore, said Raza was convicted for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad, his wives and companions.

'An anti terrorism court of Bahawalpur has awarded him the death sentence,' Qureshi said.

'It is the first ever death sentence in a case that involves social media.'

It is rare for a counter-terrorism court to hear blasphemy cases but Raza's trial fell under this category because his charge sheet included counter-terrorism offences linked to hate speech.

Qureshi said Raza was arrested after playing blasphemous and hate speech material on his phone at a bus stop in Bahawalpur, where a counter-terrorism officer arrested him and confiscated his phone.

The material obtained from the phone led to Raza's conviction, he added.

'The trial was conducted in Bahawapur jail in tight security,' Qureshi said.

Qureshi added that Raza belongs to the minority Shia community and in court he accused of spreading 'hate speech' against the Deobani sect, which adheres to a strict school of Sunni Islam.

A Pakistani man has been sentenced to death for making a derogatory remark about the Prophet Mohammad in a Facebook post

Relations between Shia and majority Sunni communities have flared up at times in Pakistan, with some extremist Sunni groups such as Lashkhar-e-Janghvi trying to exploit sectarian tensions.

Several other violent incidents linked to blasphemy accusations have alarmed human rights groups and activists in recent months.

Police are currently investigating over 20 students and some faculty members in connection with the killing of Mashal Khan, a student who was beaten to death on April following a dorm debate about religion - an attack that shocked the country.

Since then, parliament has discussed adding safeguards to the blasphemy laws, a move seen as groundbreaking in Pakistan where political leaders have been assassinated for even discussing changes.

As Raza's blasphemy conviction was under the counter-terrorism court, he will be able to appeal his sentence in the High Court and later in the Supreme Court.

There have been at least 67 murders over unproven allegations since 1990, according to figures from a research centre and independent records.