The recent lynching of a man over blasphemy charges by a mob in Nankana Sahib right in front of police personnel speaks of the total failure of law enforcers in imposing their writ. The incident is among the many our country has seen over recent years where violent mobs take the law into their hands and impose punishment at their will. The severity of the situation can be gauged from a report released by a think-tank which stated that from 1947 to 2021, 18 women and 71 men have been killed over blasphemy charges. The allegations were made against 107 women and 1,308 men. In the Nankana Sahib incident, a middle-aged man was accused of desecrating the holy Quran, which stirred public emotions. Videos circulating on social media showed people entering the police station after climbing the walls.
According to the police, people were going to hang the man, but their team reached there and shifted the suspect to the police station. The angry people reached the police station, dragged the man outside and lynched him to death. There are conflicting reports about the body being burned. The police claim they intervened and stopped the mob while some reports say the body was burned. Whatever the case, the police stood by as bystanders while the man was killed.
When the news of the incident reached the corridors of power, a statement from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was issued in which he ordered an investigation into the incident. He questioned the police’s failure to stop the violent mob.
Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony, Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council, also condemned the incident, terming it unconstitutional and unIslamic.
Subsequently, Punjab Inspector General Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar sprung into action and suspended Nankana Circle DSP Nawaz Virk and Warburton SHO Feroze Bhatti.
He sought a report from RPO Sheikhupura region Babar Saeed Alpa and directed DIG Internal Accountability Branch (IAB) Ameen Bukhari and DIG Special Branch Raja Faisal to identify the perpetrators and submit a detailed report.
The RPO, on the other hand, linked the delayed response to the late arrival of police reinforcement from the police lines, which were about 30 km away.
This incident reminds us of another unfortunate lynching where a Sri Lankan factory manager was killed on blasphemy accusations.
Even then, the police seemed helpless.
Why did our police not learn from the past? Why can’t they handle such sensitive situations when public anger flares?
Why do the police have to take a blasphemy accused to the police station in the first place? The person needs to be shifted to an unknown location to be saved from public wrath.
A legal path should be taken, and if found guilty, the person should be punished appropriately. Our country has laws that impose strict punishment on blasphemers.
Therefore, it is the police’s job to handle such situations and the media’s role to educate people. We need to inform the public that there are laws that would not let a blasphemy accused go Scot-free, and they need to hand over the suspect to the police.
It must be added here that our religious leaders too should play their part and help our law enforcers in defusing the situation.
There have been cases of false accusations too and the positive role of religious scholars. The Khushab incident is one of them.
A security guard had gunned down a bank manager in Quaidabad tehsil of Khushab near Sargodha after levelling blasphemy allegations.
However, after a thorough investigation, religious scholars of all schools of thought called for prosecuting the accused on charges of terrorism.
Ultimately, the anti-terrorism judge found the allegations false and handed down the accused two death sentences, 12-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs1.15 million in the murder case.
