Pakistani police said on Friday they had launched an investigation into an incident in which an Islamist mob lynched and burned a tourist to death for allegedly burning pages of the Quran.
Incident Occurred On Thursday night, a Pakistani man from Punjab visited Swat Valley He was accused of blasphemy by angry mobs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The Swat Valley is a major tourist destination due to its stunning natural beauty, but it is also known for its gruesome Islamic fundamentalism, having been the base of operations for the Tehreek-e-Taliban, or “Pakistani Taliban,” for many years.
The Pakistani Taliban take a similar position on the following issues: vinegarhAria Like the Taliban in Afghanistan, Pakistan strictly enforces religious laws, bans girls from attending school and enforces blasphemy laws. Pakistani forces ostensibly expelled the Taliban from the Swat valley in 2018 and have restored tourism and commerce to the region, but some old ideas remain.
The tourist was accused of “insulting the Quran” while strolling through a market in the Swat Valley. It is unclear what he actually did. Times of India (TOI) Quote He was reportedly accused of damaging a Quran in his hotel room.
Local police heard people shouting blasphemy charges in the market and quickly detained the tourists – Pakistan has strict laws against blasphemy and mobs often take the law into their own hands, killing suspects.
Subsequent statements from police authorities Claimed Police tried to “rescue” him from the mob by taking him to the police station, but the rescue was of little avail as a local mosque used a loudspeaker to tell the crowd the exact location where the “blasphemer” had been taken, and an even larger mob soon converged on the police station.
Some local residents said police opened fire on the mob, wounding 11, but police had not commented on the incident by Friday evening. In any case, the mob destroyed the gates of the police station, drove out the officers, set fire to the building and police vehicles, and dragged the alleged blasphemers out into the street.
The tourist was then brutally beaten to death and set on fire, and, as seen in numerous videos posted to social media, the mob triumphantly dragged his burning body through the streets, where they further beat him before hanging him for good measure.
Local police chief Muhammad Ali Gandapur said the victim, himself a Muslim, had been in the Swat Valley area to celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.
Police say there are hundreds of suspects in the murders, including boys as young as 13. Additional security forces have been sent to the scene, and other tourists are reportedly “attempting to flee” in a hurry, according to the BBC. put it.
