A MOB in Pakistan stormed a police station today and lynched a man who was accused of blasphemy, local officials confirmed.
Authorities said the mob stormed the police station in the town of Warburton, located in the Pakistan’s Punjab province, to attack a man accused of desecrating the Quran, the Press Trust of India reported.
The victim, identified as Waris Issa, was stripped naked, dragged into the streets and beaten to death, according to local reports.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the police should have done more to stop the mob.
“The rule of law should be ensured. No one should be allowed to influence the law,” he said.
Inspector General of Police Usman Anwar suspended two police officers following the incident.
“No one is allowed to take the law into his hands, no matter how influential he is, therefore strict departmental and legal action will be taken against those responsible for the incident and the perpetrators of negligence and professional misconduct,” Anwar said in a statement to PTI.
The leader of a Muslim umbrella group representing Islamic clerics also condemning the lynching.
Mehmood Ashrafi, chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council, stated that the “inhuman torture” and killing of Issa “is regrettable and condemnable,” the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
The Pakistani Centre for Research and Security Studies has tallied 89 people killed over blasphemy allegations since 1947, the newspaper said.
