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A Muslim mob in Madyan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan attacked a police station and destroyed police vehicles parked there.
As reported APOn Thursday, a mob seized a man who had been detained there and killed him for allegedly insulting the Quran, according to local police official Rahim Ullah.
Tourist Mohammed Ismail, who was staying at a hotel in Madyan town, was targeted by locals who accused him of blasphemy. Police officers reportedly took Ismail to the police station for safety, but were chased away by the growing mob.
The mob stormed the police station, captured Ismail, brutally assaulted and killed him, and then set his body on fire and left it on the street.
Also read: Mob burns down Pakistani churches, vandalises cemetery over alleged blasphemy
“Additional police forces have reached Madyan to bring the situation under control,” Ullah said.
It is not yet clear whether any of the attackers have been arrested.
Violence against people accused of blasphemy is a frequent occurrence in Pakistan, a country governed by conservative Islamic principles, where blasphemy is punishable by severe penalties, including death.
Both international and national rights organizations highlight that blasphemy charges are often exploited to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal disputes.
Also read: Pakistan court sentences man to death for posting blasphemy on WhatsApp
In a recent incident in Punjab province last month, a mob attacked 72-year-old Christian man Nazir Masih after accusing him of desecrating pages of the Quran. He later died in hospital.
Origin of Blasphemy Law in Pakistan
Blasphemy laws were introduced in the Indian Penal Code 1860 during British colonial rule, specifically sections 295 and 298, which criminalised actions and speech deemed derogatory to religious beliefs and sacred persons. These laws were further strengthened and expanded in Pakistan following its independence in 1947.
During the authoritarian rule of General Zia-ul-Haq from 1977 to 1988, five additional sections were added to Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
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Of these, the blasphemy law under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code states, “Whoever by words, spoken or written, or by visible depiction or by any imputation, sign or gesture, directly or indirectly, profanes the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to pay a fine.”
These amendments during Zia’s rule marked a significant escalation of Islamization efforts aimed at transforming Pakistan into a theocratic state, unique in the country’s political history.
Political tussle over blasphemy
In 1991, the Federal Shariat Court recognised blasphemy as a hadd crime, where even a single and ordinary insult to the Prophet Muhammad was punishable by death, with no possibility of pardon or commutation. According to one report, 62 people have been killed since 1990 based on blasphemy allegations without any evidence. orf Report.
In 2010, the PPP proposed a private bill to amend the law to introduce proper procedures for reporting and dealing with blasphemy cases. However, the bill was withdrawn under pressure from religious groups, despite Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani inviting religious leaders to suggest measures to prevent its misuse.
Also read: People surrounded a Pakistani woman thinking the Arabic words on her kurta were verses from the Quran | Watch
Opposition to the law reached a tragic peak in 2011 when Minority Minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, both of whom were vocal supporters of reform of the law, were assassinated.
Over the past twenty years, the National Commission of Justice and Peace, a Pakistani organization dedicated to providing legal aid and advocating for human rights, has documented that 1,534 individuals have been accused of blasphemy. Of those, 774 were Muslims, while the remaining 760 belonged to various minority religious communities.
(with inputs from agencies)
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