‘No Rule of Regulation’: How a Mob in Pakistan Killed a Man Arrested for Blasphemy

An indignant mob stormed a police station in Punjab, Pakistan, and killed a person being held there on fees of blasphemy on February 11, 2023.

A number of movies have gone viral on the web documenting this horrific crime. Sadly, this is not the primary time one thing like this has occurred, says our Observer, who has been documenting related points for years.

The ugly footage reveals a mob dragging a person by way of the streets and beating him mercilessly. The video, which has been circulating on social media, paperwork the most recent case wherein a mob killed an individual accused of blasphemy in Pakistan.

On 11 February 2023, Muhammad Waris was arrested at a police station in Punjab after being arrested on suspicion of blasphemy. In Pakistan, blasphemy is a critical crime – you may be sentenced to loss of life for the crime.

Complete insanity!!! An indignant mob attacked the police station in Nankana Sahib. One accused of blasphemy was reportedly killed and the our bodies burned by the mob. Plainly the police weren’t in a position to management the scenario. pic.twitter.com/1kdNGFmqro

February 11, 2023 A mob storms the police station in Warburton, Pakistan. A number of the males use a ladder to attempt to enter the constructing. You may see the police station right here on Google Earth. There are additionally images of the station on its Fb web page.

A number of media retailers reported that Waris, who’s in his 30s, was arrested after allegedly tearing a number of pages from the Quran, the holy ebook of Muslims.

However our Observer says this isn’t the actual story. Naveed Walter runs an NGO known as Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), which paperwork and fights discrimination in opposition to members of the nation’s spiritual minorities, who are sometimes accused of blasphemy.

‘A member of the household conspired to accuse Wares of blasphemy, and provoke some spiritual fanatics’, and his workforce collected testimonies about what occurred at Warburton each on the bottom and over their phone line. They uncover that the entire thing was not began by blasphemy, however by some household debt.

In reality, Muhammed Waris lent cash to one in every of his relations. However when one member of the family couldn’t repay him, in accordance with testimonies, the member of the family then conspired to accuse Wars of blasphemy, a lot to the provocation of some spiritual fanatics.

Whereas being arrested for blasphemy on the police station, the defendants provoked individuals from mosques and different locations. The mob gathered there and attacked the police station. In the course of the assault, the police fled; their escape. Folks armed with wood sticks and iron bars stormed the gate of the police station. They took him out of the police station onto the street and beat him to loss of life.

Quite a few movies have been circulating on the web displaying the ugly loss of life suffered by Muhammed Waris. We determined to not share the movies, because of the brutal violence on show. As a substitute, we simply shared screenshots documenting mob violence.

The gang surrounds the sufferer whereas one of many perpetrators units his physique on hearth. © Twitter/luv_for_alll

PAKISTAN: A number of movies present youngsters as younger as 10 years outdated – implicated within the assault on the Nankana Sahib police station, mob killing accused blasphemer and burning him alive.

Additionally, the native police may be seen as bystanders throughout an Islamist mob assault. pic.twitter.com/tsiHfVOk5N

February 11, 2023 While you have a look at many of those movies, you may see many individuals filming the scene. Our Observer says he isn’t shocked:

Individuals who have taken movies within the mob are literally checking what’s going on. They’re making movies as a lesson to others. Some individuals even took selfies in a earlier blasphemy case the place a person was burned alive. Different individuals take movies as proof for journalists or human rights organizations.

When mobs assault, the police more often than not do not get entangled. Our Observer says that spiritual extremists, particularly members of the unconventional Islamic celebration Tehreek-e-Labaik, inspired these assassinations.

Our workforce wrote a few case in December 2021 when a mob chanting “Tahreek Labek” killed a Sri Lankan man accused of blasphemy in Pakistan.

>> Learn extra on Observers: Extremist celebration supporters beat and burn Sri Lankan man in Pakistan’s newest blasphemy homicide

There was an increase within the variety of individuals accused of blasphemy, which is usually used as a way of persecuting spiritual minorities, in accordance with a report printed in early February 2023 by the Human Rights Fee of Pakistan, an impartial group based mostly in Lahore.

Our Observer says issues won’t enhance so long as the authorities fail to behave. In Pakistan, one thing so simple as rumor or malice can result in somebody being accused of blasphemy.

There are a number of cases wherein we now have famous that the idea of the difficulty was private. They use the blasphemy legal guidelines as an excuse to kill somebody or get revenge.

And when mobs do assault, the police typically do not get entangled. The police want to have the ability to deal with this drawback. And the Pakistani authorities did not make any technique, they simply reported the incidents. There is no such thing as a technique, no mechanism, and no rule of legislation.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shabazz Sharif known as for an investigation into Soleimani’s killing.