An angry mob in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday broke into a police station, got hold of a man who was held there and then lynched him over claims that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book Quran.
The attackers also torched the station in Madyan, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and burned police vehicles parked there, according to a local police official. Eight people were injured in the unrest triggered by the incident.
Heavy police deployment has been made in Madyan and efforts are being made to bring the situation under control. In videos spreading on social media, a mob encircles a burning body in the middle of a road, while large crowds gather outside a police station.
Madyan is among the renowned tourist destinations in Swat Valley. It is approximately 245 kilometers from the provincial capital, Peshawar. The slain man, Mohammad Ismail, was a tourist who was staying at a hotel in the town when some locals turned on him and accused him of blasphemy.
Police officers took the man to the station for his protection but the mob swelled and pursued them. The mob then attacked the station, snatched Ismail, beat him to death and then burned his body and left it on the road. Provincial Chief Minister KPK Ali Amin Gandapur took note of the desecration incident and sought a report from the provincial police chief.
The CM directed the IGP to take emergency steps to control the situation and urged people to remain calm and peaceful. Attacks on people accused of blasphemy are common in this conservative Islamic nation where charges of blasphemy can carry the death sentence. International and national rights groups say blasphemy accusations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.
Around 2,120 persons are reported to have been accused of committing blasphemy between 1987 and 2022, according to Dawn newspaper. A mob in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province last month attacked a Christian man, Nazir Masih, 72, after accusing him of desecrating pages of the Quran. He later died at a hospital.
(With agency inputs)
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