An Anti-Terrorism Court in Pakistan has sentenced a man to 26 years imprisonment for making hoax calls to police about bombs being planted in crowded public places in Multan district of Punjab province.
This is the maximum jail term a Pakistani court has given to a hoax caller.
Rana Yousuf, who is in his 30s, made two hoax calls to police in July claiming bombs had been planted in a market at Hussain Agahi intersection and in a children's park in Multan city.
A bomb disposal squad and police rushed to the spots but found nothing.
During investigation, it was found that Yousuf used the sim card of one of his friends, whom he wanted to entrap because of business rivalry.
Pronouncing the sentence, Anti-Terrorism Court Multan judge Sajjad Sheikh also imposed a fine of Rs 100,000 on Yousuf.
