A man, accused of blasphemy, was lynched by a violent mob in Punjab province in Pakistan on Saturday, the latest killing in the country related to religious sensitivities.
The country has seen a number of cases of vigilante action by mobs against people accused of blasphemy.
Hundreds of youths stormed a police station where the man was being held for his protection in the Nankana Sahib district of Punjab province, about 80 kilometres from the eastern city of Lahore.
The mob stormed the police station and took custody of Waris Issa, stripped him naked, and dragged him in the streets before beating him to death. Officers said the victim, in his mid-30s, was accused of desecrating the Koran, the Muslim holy book.
Residents of the area claimed that the man — who had returned after spending two years in jail — used to practice witchcraft by pasting his ex-wife’s picture on holy books, Geo News reported.
Bloody rascals insulting humanity in the name of religion against the teachings of religion. Bastards of Religion, they are.#NankanaSahib #Islam pic.twitter.com/NY75VM74TO— ꜱᴀᴀᴅ سعد (@Saa_di1) February 11, 2023
Several video clips of the incident also went viral on social media.
A mob lynched a person, who was arrested by police on #blasphemy charges, after attacking a police station in Nankana Sahab, Punjab, #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/qPR2g72Pqs— Mubashir Zaidi (@Xadeejournalist) February 11, 2023
Videos shared on social media showed hundreds of youngsters besieging the police compound, with one man scaling a tall gate using a ladder and opening its lock.
Total madness!!! An angry mob attacked the police station in Nankana Sahib. Reportedly an accused of blasphemy was killed and body burnt by the mob. Apparently police was unable to control the situation. pic.twitter.com/1kdNGFmqro— Shiraz Hassan (@ShirazHassan) February 11, 2023
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered action against those involved. He also questioned why the police failed to stop the violent mob and directed the Inspector General of police in Punjab to ensure law and order in the district.
He said that the first priority of the institutions responsible for peace and order is peace and that it should always come first.
In December 2021, a mob in Sialkot city of Punjab tortured a Sri Lankan man, who was working as a manager at a local factory, to death over blasphemy allegations. The incident drew widespread condemnation.
An anti-terrorism court in Lahore last year handed down the punishment to 88 suspects involved in Sri Lankan citizen Piryantha Kumara’s lynching case. Six of them were sentenced to death.
(With inputs from agencies)
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