In the Madyan tehsil of Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northwest Pakistan, a man accused of desecrating the Holy Quran met a tragic fate at the hands of an angry mob.
The man, identified as Mohammad Ismail from Sialkot district, was allegedly caught burning pages of the Holy Quran. Although the police took him into custody, the situation quickly escalated when a furious crowd demanded his release and resorted to violence when their demands were not met.
The unrest intensified as the mob set fire to the local police station, resulting in its destruction. Some individuals managed to enter the station, where they shot the suspect, dragged his lifeless body to Madyan Adda, and hanged it. This horrifying incident led to eight people sustaining injuries. In response, heavy police deployment has been implemented in Madyan, and efforts are underway to regain control of the situation, according to District Police Officer (DPO) Zahidullah.
Zahidullah further revealed that the suspect had initially been taken to the Madyan police station for his own protection. The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, has requested a report from the provincial police chief regarding this desecration incident. He has also instructed the Inspector General of Police to take immediate measures to restore stability in the area. In light of these events, the chief minister has urged the public to remain calm and peaceful.
Providing additional details, local police official Rahim Ullah explained that the incident unfolded when the locals in Madyan accused Ismail, who was a tourist staying at a local hotel, of blasphemy. The police officers, in an attempt to safeguard him, took him to the station. However, the mob grew in size and relentlessly pursued them. Eventually, the mob attacked the station, snatched Ismail, brutally beat him to death, and then burned his body, leaving it on the road.
To restore order, additional police forces have been dispatched to Madyan. At present, it remains uncertain whether any of the attackers have been apprehended.
The recent lynching in Swat reflects a similar violent occurrence that took place in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province last month. In that incident, a mob attacked a 72-year-old Christian man named Nazir Masih, accusing him of defiling pages of the Quran.
