Mob Attacks Man Over Blasphemy in Northern Pakistan
A mob in northern Pakistan attacked a man accused of blasphemy during Friday prayers. Aside from the victim, several protesters and policemen who stepped in to protect him were hurt in the incident. The wounds of the victim, who is suspected to be mentally ill, are not life-threatening.
Witnesses said Rashid Ahmed entered the mosque in the town of Chitral where he declared to be the messiah, adding that those who follow him will go to heaven. This angered the congregation who began to attack him. Authorities responded and rescued the victim by taking him to the police station.
But the mob followed them and demanded that he be subjected to mob "justice."
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"We told them that Ahmed will be examined medically and if he was found mentally fit then he will be tried under the blasphemy law. But the mob wasn't satisfied," Radio Free Europe quoted police chief, Akbar Ali Shah.
Security forces fired tear gas at the crowd which injured eight people.
Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive topic in Muslim-majority Pakistan where violators can be meted the death penalty. There have been at least 67 murders involving unproven allegations since 1990, Reuters cited figures from a Center for Research and Security Studies report.
This is the third incident of mob lynching this month over blasphemy allegations. A university student was mercilessly beaten to death and a faith healer was shot dead. The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has urged that all those involved in the lynching be brought to justice.
Officials who attempt to amend the blasphemy law face assassination. In 2011, Punjab provincial governor Salman Taseer was assassinated by his bodyguard after calling for reforms. The bodyguard was executed last year but was hailed as a martyr by religious hardliners who even erected a shrine at his grave.
