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Pakistan mob lynches demonstrator over alleged blasphemy

May 7, 2023

The angry mob attacked the demonstrator with batons after he delivered a speech deemed blasphemous. Fatal blasphemy accusations are not uncommon in the highly conservative Muslim country.

https://p.dw.com/p/4R0M0
Supporters of a religious group "Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan" chant slogans during a rally against a woman who was recently arrested on blasphemy charges, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 17, 2023.
Blasphemy accusations often rile up angry mobs in Pakistan, with lynching a common occurrence Image: K.M. Chaudary/AP Photo/picture alliance

An angry mob chased and attacked to death a demonstrator in Pakistan's ultraconservative northwest, after he delivered a speech they deemed blasphemous, police said Sunday. 

The incident occurred in the Madran district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.

What do we know about the incident?

The political rally in Sawaldher village turned against the 40-year-old victim late Saturday, when he made a concluding prayer at the end of the event, local police officer Iqbal Khan said.

Witnesses reported the police attempts to save the man from the angry mob. He was able to momentarily flee, before the mob tracked him and found him.

Videos circulated on social media, showing people pushing the man and attacking him. He died on the scene.

"The mob was so agitated that it became extremely challenging for the police to even recover the body," district police chief Najeeb-ur-Rehman told the French AFP news agency.

Blasphemy a common accusation

Police said an investigation into the incident was underway.

However, accusations of blasphemy are not uncommon in the highly conservative country.

Last month, a Chinese national working on a dam project was briefly detained after locals accused him of blasphemy.

In February, an angry mob raided a police station in the city of Lahore and killed a person accused of blasphemy.

AFP cited local rights groups as reporting over 2,000 accusations of blasphemy in the country since 1987, including at least 88 deaths by lynch mobs.

Rights groups say such dangerous accusations are often used to settle personal vendettas, with minorities being the usual targets.

Pakistan under pressure to repeal blasphemy laws

rmt/wd (AFP, AP)