Pakistan: Islamic Scholar Beaten To Death By Mob For Blasphemy

An Islamic scholar was lynched by a mob in the Sawal Dher area of Mardan City, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan on Saturday, according to local news report. The deceased was accused of blasphemy during a rally for former prime minister Imran Khan's political outfit Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The man was beaten to death by the mob after being accused of blasphemy at a rally, officials said Sunday.

A viral video of the incident is currently online and it shows a crowd of hundreds converging upon a single man and beating him mercilessly with sticks and other crude weapons. The mob even dragged the lifeless body of the man, believed to be in his 40s. Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unproven allegations can stir mobs and violence.

Police said a man identified as Nigar Alam was asked to deliver the concluding prayer at a rally organised by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party when the crowd took offence to his comments, Hindustan Times reports. He managed to flee the scene, police said, but a mob tracked him down to a relative's house.

A group of individuals climbed over the wall, barged inside, and beat him to death with sticks and batons, said district police chief Najeeb-ur-Rehman The mob was so agitated that it became extremely challenging for the police to even recover the body, he added.

Another local police official, Umair Khan, confirmed the incident. PTI leader Khan was not present at the rally and party officials had no immediate comment on the incident. Few issues in Pakistan are as galvanising as blasphemy, and even the slightest suggestion of an insult to Islam can supercharge protests and incite lynchings.

According to the Centre for Social Justice , an independent group advocating for the rights of minorities, more than 2,000 people have been accused of committing blasphemy since 1987, and at least 88 people killed by lynch mobs for similar allegations. Rights groups say accusations of blasphemy are often wielded in Pakistan to settle personal vendettas, with minorities largely the targets.