On Monday (May 17) night, a frenzied mob attacked a police station in Islamabad and tried to lynch a man accused of blasphemy.
As per reports, a case was registered against two unnamed individuals under the draconian blasphemy law at the Golra police station. They were accused of allegedly passing derogatory remarks, throwing stones at a mosque, and tearing a sacred poster. When the cops detained one of the suspects, a large crowd of radical Islamists reached the police station with batons and iron rods. They demanded that the accused must be handed over to them.
The police locked the gate to keep the frenzied mob from entering the station. However, they managed to break in and overpowered the guards. The radical Islamists then began damaging the offices of the investigating officers, Station House Officer (SHO), and moharrar. The mob wanted to lynch the suspect to death for allegedly insulting Islam. In order to ensure the protection of the suspect and their own lives, the cops locked themselves up in lockup rooms.
After being ambushed by the mob, the police officials pleaded for help from a police contingent. On receiving information, a team of police reinforcements including anti-riot units, anti-terrorist squad, counterterrorism departments was dispatched at the Golra police station. They charged the mob with batons, fired teargas shells to pacify the situation. After a one-hour long operation, the entrapped cops and the suspect were then rescued by the contingent.
Fearing danger to the life of the suspect, the cops shifted him to an undisclosed location and kept him under tight security. The transfer was carried out during a blackout in the area. The locality was cordoned off and all routes leading to the Golra police station were sealed. The cops were seen patrolling the area and maintaining strict surveillance. A contingent of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and ARU was deployed at all sealing points.
Victim axed to death in Pakistan over blasphemy
On March 24, a Shia cleric was brutally murdered over allegations of blasphemy in the Jhang district of Punjab in Pakistan. As per reports, the Shia religious scholar was identified as one Taqi Shah. He had gone to a local fair (mela) along with his friend Hasnain Shah in Basti Murad in Shorkot Tehsil. The duo was attacked by an unnamed Islamist, who was armed with an axe. Taqi Shah was on a motorcycle when the accused assaulted him. He fell on the road from his bike, following which Shah was slaughtered with the axe.
According to the complainant, Taqi Shah was killed over a personal dispute with the main accused. Reportedly, the victim and the accused had a heated argument while playing volleyball, a few days prior to the incident. Although the matter was resolved, the accused held grudge against the victim and killed him with his axe on Wednesday. It must be pointed out that a case of blasphemy was also registered against the Shia religious scholar in September 2019 and the accused confessed that he killed Shah due to blasphemy.