PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s police have arrested 27 suspects allegedly involved in torturing a man to death by burning him alive over accusations of desecrating the Holy Quran in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province earlier this week.
According to a senior officer of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Dr. Zahidullah Khan, the mob brutally lynched a local tourist who had been detained on blasphemy allegations inside the Madyan police station in Swat, a popular tourist spot, on Thursday evening.
Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Zahidullah Khan stated that despite police resistance, the enraged mob entered the police station, set fire to the building and a police vehicle, and took the suspect away. Later, they set the suspect’s body on fire.
Videos circulating on social media depict a mob surrounding a body on fire in the middle of the road and a large crowd outside a police station.
This marks the second such incident in recent weeks, echoing a similar event in Sargodha where police intervened to save a Christian man accused of blasphemy from a violent mob, though he later succumbed to injuries.
Swat police have filed two FIRs in response, one against the deceased and another against the mob for unlawful entry, destruction of property, and arson. The case has been registered under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act.
A press release from the Swat DPO’s offices said that a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), led by SP Investigation Badshah Hazrat Khan, has been formed to uncover the truth.
In response to the escalating situation, the National Assembly passed a resolution condemning mob violence in Swat and Sargodha.
The resolution emphasized the right to life and called on federal and provincial authorities to ensure the safety of all citizens, including minorities, and to prosecute those responsible under the law.
