A man has been lynched by a mob in Pakistan's Swat district for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran, police say. "The mob attacked the police station and took the suspect away," said Dr Zahidullah Khan, the District Police Officer (DPO) of Swat, as reported by DAWN. "People set fire to the police station and a mobile vehicle," he added.
The man was accused of burning the Quran, an act considered blasphemous in Pakistan. At least eight people were injured in the ensuing unrest, according to the DPO.
Videos on social media show a mob circling a body on fire in the middle of the road, as well as people gathered in huge numbers outside a police station.
"The suspect was torched," Dr Khan said, confirming the incident.
The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Ali Amin Gandapur, has condemned the incident and ordered an investigation. "We are hell-bent on committing suicide as a society," said former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on X.
Violence against non-Muslims in Pakistan has escalated rapidly ever since General Zia-ul-Haq, sixth president of Pakistan, made blasphemy punishable by death. Between 1927 and 1986, only 14 incidents of blasphemy were reported in what is now Pakistan. But after the changes were made in the law, the number surged quickly.
At least 2,120 persons are reported to have been accused of committing blasphemy between 1987 and 2022.
