In an incident in the Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northwest Pakistan, a man was killed by an angry mob just because of the accusations of desecrating the religious text Quran. The victim, reportedly from Sialkot district in Punjab, allegedly burned some pages of the Quran in Madyan tehsil on Thursday night.
Local authorities swiftly took the suspect into custody and brought him to Madyan police station. Outside the station, a furious mob gathered and demanded that the suspect be handed over to them. When the police refused, tensions escalated, leading to an exchange of gunfire between the mob and the police. During the chaos, one person sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Madyan Hospital, according to District Police Officer Zahidullah.
The situation deteriorated further as the mob set fire to the police station in retaliation. Subsequently, individuals from the mob entered the station, shot the suspect, and then proceeded to drag his body to Madyan Adda, where they publicly hanged it, as confirmed by Zahidullah. The incident resulted in injuries to eight people due to the unrest that followed.
District authorities responded with heavy police deployment in Madyan to restore order. Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, has taken serious note of the incident and has requested a comprehensive report from the provincial police chief. He has directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to take immediate measures to stabilize the situation and has appealed to the public to maintain calm and refrain from further violence.
ALSO READ: “SIPRI Report 2024: Bharat Surpasses Pakistan in Nuclear Weapons, China Expands Arsenal”
The incident has sparked widespread concern and condemnation, both locally and internationally, highlighting the sensitive nature of religious issues in the region. Efforts are underway to contain the fallout from the incident and to prevent further escalation of tensions in the Swat district.
Comments