Mob kills man accused of burning Quran in Pakistan

A Pakistani man accused of desecrating the Quran was slain and burned Thursday by a crowd that removed him from a police station where he had been detained for his protection, authorities said.

“On the evening of June 20th, locals in the Madian area detained a man, alleging he had burned the Quran. The police intervened, rescued him, and took him to the local police station,” a police source in Swat told AFP, noting the man was not from the area.

But the crowd, urged on by local mosques, converged on the police station and pelted it with stones. This aggressive behavior demonstrated the intense anger and the volatility of the situation.

“To disperse the angry mob, police fired warning shots into the air, which further incited the crowd. The mob overpowered the police, dragged the man out, and beat him to death with sticks,” the source said. The escalation highlighted the mob’s determination and the police’s inability to control the situation.

Later, some people poured oil on his body and set it ablaze, the source added. This act of setting the body on fire marked a brutal end to the man’s life, further illustrating the crowd’s fury.

A local official confirmed the incident, saying: “After killing the man, the enraged protesters started stoning the police, forcing them to abandon the station. The attack on the police underscored the lawlessness and the chaos that ensued.

The situation in the area remained tense, with protesters blocking the main road, according to the official. This blockade indicated ongoing unrest and the community’s unresolved anger.

Blasphemy is a highly sensitive subject in majority Muslim Pakistan, where even accusations without evidence can stir up anger among crowds and spark outbreaks of violence. The country has seen multiple instances of violence related to such allegations.

In Punjab, mob violence over blasphemy allegations has led to deaths, including a Christian in late May and a Muslim in February 2023, highlighting the lethal consequences of such accusations in Pakistan.

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