Muslim mob torches police station and lynches man accused of blasphemy
The incident in the north-west of the country came after the man – a tourist – was alleged to have desecrated the Koran.
A Muslim mob in north-western Pakistan has broken into a police station, snatched a man who was held there and then lynched him over allegations that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Koran.
The attackers also torched the station in Madyan, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and burned police vehicles parked there, according to local police official Rahim Ullah.
The dead 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 have registered a case against hundreds of people who took part in the attack, and are trying to identify those involved in attacking the station and killing the man.
Mr Ullah said police officers took the man to the station for his protection but the mob swelled and pursued them.
Additional police forces have arrived in Madyan to bring the situation under control, Mr Ullah said.
It was not immediately known if any of the attackers were arrested.
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.
Last month, a mob in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province attacked a Christian man, Nazir Masih, 72, after accusing him of desecrating pages of Quran. He later died in hospital.
