Pakistani man lynched over alleged blasphemy in Khanewal village

A policeman stands guard outside the central jail, as the court delivered the verdict on a blasphemy case, in Multan on December 21, 2019. (AFP/ File)

• Media reports accused was in police custody but was allowed to exit police station even though angry mob waited outside
• Incident comes months after mob tortured and burned Sri Lankan factory manager in Sialkot over apparent blasphemy

ISLAMABAD: A middle-aged man was stoned to death by a mob over alleged blasphemy in a remote village in Khanewal district on Saturday, Pakistani media widely reported on Sunday.
The killing comes just months after a mob of factory employees tortured and burned a Sri Lankan manager in Sialkot in December over apparent blasphemy in a "horrific" attack that Prime Minister Imran Khan said had brought shame on the country.
The incident drew nationwide condemnation and authorities arrested dozens of people over involvement in the killing of Priyantha Kumara. Those linked to Kumara’s murder are facing a trial in Pakistan.
“The Saturday incident took place in Jungle Dera village where hundreds of loc­als gathered after Magh­rib pra­yers following annou­n­cements that a man had torn some pages of the Holy Quran and later set them on fire,” Dawn newspaper reported. “The villagers first hanged him with a tree and then hit him with bricks, until he died.”
The Express Tribune newspaper reported that the accused, who claimed innocence, had been in police custody but was allowed to leave the police station even though an angry mob was present outside.
“Taking notice of the incident, IG Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan sought a report from Additional IG South Punjab over the incident,” Tribune said. “He also directed RPO Multan to conduct a thorough inquiry in this regard and ordered DPO Khanewal to reach the affected location as soon as possible.”
Mob killings over accusations of blasphemy - a crime that can carry the death sentence - have been frequent in Muslim-majority Pakistan.
In January this year, a Pakistani court sentenced a Muslim woman to death after finding her guilty of blasphemy for insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
The woman, Aneeqa Atteeq, was arrested in May 2020 after the man alerted police that she sent him offensive caricatures via WhatsApp.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting the religion or religious figures can be sentenced to death. While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation can cause riots.