A person arrested on blasphemy charges was lynched by a mob after it stormed a police station in Pakistan Punjab’s Nankana Sahib on Saturday. The man was held in Warburton police station, some 80 km from Lahore, on allegations of desecration of the holy book.
The Punjab chief minister formed a three-member committee to probe the lynching case. The committee will have to furnish a fact-finding report in 48 hours.
Police identified the blasphemy-accused man as Waris Issa, who was arrested for desecration of the holy book. The mob stripped him naked and dragged him in the streets before beating him to death, a police officer said.
Local residents 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.
Several video clips of the incident also went viral on social media. In one video, the mob, including young children, could be seen scaling the large gates of the police station.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also ordered action against those involved. He also questioned why police failed to stop the mob and directed the inspector general of police in Punjab to ensure law and order in the district. “The rule of law should be ensured. No one should be allowed to influence the law,” Sharif said, adding that the first priority of institutions responsible for peace and order was peace and that it should always come first.
According to a report in news agency PTI, Punjab IGP Dr Usman Anwar suspended DSP Nankana Circle Nawaz Virk and SHO Warburton Feroze Bhatti from service. “No one is allowed to take the law into his hands, no matter how influential he is, therefore strict departmental and legal action will be taken against those responsible for the incident and the perpetrators of negligence and professional misconduct,” the IGP was quoted as saying.
This is not the first lynching of a blasphemy-accused person in Punjab. 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.
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