An enraged Muslim mob beat a
Christian couple to death in Pakistan and burnt
their bodies in the brick kiln where they worked on
Tuesday for allegedly desecrating a Koran, police
said.
The incident took place in the town of Kot Radha
Kishan, some 60 kilometres (40 miles) southwest
of Lahore, and is the latest example of mob
violence against minorities accused of blasphemy.
“A mob attacked a Christian couple after accusing
them of desecration of the holy Koran and later
burnt their bodies at a brick kiln where they
worked,” local police station official Bin-Yameen
told AFP.
“Yesterday an incident of desecration of the holy
Koran took place in the area and today the mob
first beat the couple and later set their bodies on
fire at a brick kiln,” he added.
Another police official confirmed the incident. The
victims were only identified by their first names,
Shama and Shehzad, and were a married couple.
Pakistan’s brick kiln workers are often subject to
harsh practices, with a study by the Bonded
Labour Liberation Front Pakistan estimating that
4.5 million are indentured labourers.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif set up a
three-member committee to fast track the
investigation of the killings and ordered police to
beef up security at Christian neighbourhoods in
the province, an official from his media office told
AFP.
– Hugely sensitive issue –
Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in the
majority Muslim country, with even unproven
allegations often prompting mob violence.
Anyone convicted, or even just accused, of
insulting Islam, risks a violent and bloody death
at the hands of vigilantes.
A Christian woman has been on death row since
November 2010 after she was found guilty of
making derogatory remarks about the Prophet
Mohammed during an argument with a Muslim
woman.
An elderly British man with severe mental illness,
sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan in
January, was shot by a prison guard last month.
An internal investigation has found that the guard
had been radicalised and goaded into the
shooting by Mumtaz Qadri, a police bodyguard
who murdered the Punjab governor in 2011 for
suggesting reform of the blasphemy laws.
Qadri shot dead Punjab governor Salman Taseer
at an Islamabad coffee shop. Despite the brutal
slaying, Qadri was feted as a hero by a wide
section of the public including lawyers for the
murder, and was even showered with rose petals
as he arrived at court for a trial hearing.
Global rights watchdog Amnesty International
urged the Pakistani authorities to bring to justice
those responsible for the latest killing.
“This vicious mob killing is just the latest
manifestation of the threat of vigilante violence
which anyone can face in Pakistan after a
blasphemy accusation –- although religious
minorities are disproportionately vulnerable,” said
David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s deputy
Asia Pacific director.
“Those responsible must be brought to justice
and the Pakistani authorities have to ensure at-
risk communities are proactively given the
protection they need.”
No comments: