An outraged mob in Pakistan accused a lady of blasphemy for wearing a dress printed with Arabic calligraphy, after mistakenly believing them to be Quran verses. She was rescued by police, who took her to safety.
The event was recorded on camera and went viral on social media. It showed the woman seated in a nearby restaurant with her hands covering her face while people were gathered around her.
In the video, a woman police officer stepped in to calm things down, telling the crowd not to get violent and helping the distressed woman get away safely.
Posting the video of the incident on social media platform X, the Punjab (Pakistan) Police wrote: "ASP Syeda Shehrbano Naqvi, the brave SDPO of Gulbarg Lahore, put her life in danger to rescue a woman from a violent crowd. For this heroic deed, the Punjab Police has recommended her name for the prestigious Quaid-e-Azam Police Medal (QPM), the highest gallantry award for law enforcement in Pakistan".
In another video explaining what happened, the woman police officer said, "The woman had gone shopping with her husband. She was wearing a kurta with some words on it. When some people saw it, they asked her to take it off and that created confusion…"
The woman was brought into a police station, where several religious scholars confirmed that the text on her dress was Arabic calligraphy, not verses from the Quran. The dress had the word "Halwa" printed in Arabic letters on it, meaning sweet in Arabic.
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The lady also apologised for the incident. In the video shared online, the woman was heard saying, “I had bought the kurta as it had a good design. Did not think people would think in this way."
"I did not have any intention of insulting the Quran. I apologise for the incident,” she added.
Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan. Some people have been lynched even before their cases go on trial.
