Local residents look a spot where a Muslim mob lynched and burned a man over allegations that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book, in Madyan, a town in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Friday, June 21, 2024. A Muslim mob in northwestern Pakistan broke into a police station, snatched a man who was held there and then lynched him over allegations that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Quran.
| Photo Credit: AP

A court in Pakistan sentenced a Christian man to death for sharing what it said was hateful content against Muslims on social media after one of the worst mob attacks on Christians in the eastern Punjab province last year, his lawyer said on July 1, adding he will appeal the verdict.

In August 2023, groups of Muslim men burned dozens of homes and churches in the city of Jaranwala after some residents claimed they saw two Christian men tearing out pages from Islam’s holy book, the Koran, throwing them on the ground and writing insulting remarks on other pages, authorities said. The two men were later arrested.

No casualties were reported at the time as terrified Christians fled their homes to safer areas. Though the police arrested more than 100 suspects following the attacks, it remained unclear if any were convicted.

Ehsan Shan, though not party to the desecration, was accused of reposting the defaced pages of the Koran on his TikTok account, his lawyer Khurram Shahzad told The Associated Press on July 1. He also said he would appeal against the death sentence issued on June 29 by a court in the city of Sahiwal in Punjab province

Amir Farooq, a police officer who arrested Mr. Shan, said the man shared “the hateful content at a sensitive time when authorities were already struggling to contain the violence.”

Naveed Kashif, a local priest at a church in Sahiwal, said while he didn’t excuse what Mr. Shan posted, he wondered “why the court ordered such an extreme verdict when those linked to the attacks are yet to be punished.”

Blasphemy accusations are common in Pakistan. Under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death. While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, often just the accusation can cause riots and incite mobs to violence, lynching and killings.

Earlier this month, 72-year-old Nazir Masih died after he was attacked by an angry mob in May following accusations of blasphemy.

Plainclothes police officers examine the burnt furniture which were torched by a Muslim mob in an attack, in Madyan in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Friday, June 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

A Muslim mob in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, June 20, 2024 broke into a police station, snatched a man who was held there and then lynched him over allegations that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Koran.

Read: Editorial | In the name of god: On how dangerously sectarian Pakistan is

The attackers also torched the station in Madyan, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and burned police vehicles parked there, according to local police official Rahim Ullah.

The slain man, Mohammad Ismail, was a tourist who was staying at a hotel in the town when some locals turned on him and accused him of blasphemy.

Ullah said police officers took the man to the station for his protection but the mob swelled and pursued them. The mob then attacked the station, snatched Ismail, beat him to death and then burned his body and left it on the road.

Additional police forces have arrived in Madyan to bring the situation under control, Ullah said.

It wasn’t immediately known if any of the attackers were arrested.

Attacks on people accused of blasphemy are common in this conservative Islamic nation where charges of blasphemy can carry the death sentence.

A tool to settle personal scores?

International and national rights groups say blasphemy accusations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.

Last month, a mob in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province attacked a Christian man, Nazir Masih, 72, after accusing him of desecrating pages of Koran. He later died at a hospital.

While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation can provoke riots. Image used for representative purpose only.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

A Pakistani court sentenced a 22-year-old student to death and gave a teenager a life sentence in two separate cases after finding them guilty of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, a defence lawyer and officials said on Monday.

Both had denied the charges and have the right to appeal.

Aslam Gujar, a lawyer who represented student Junaid Munir said that the judge in the city of Gujranwala in Punjab province announced the death penalty for his client last week. The trial stemmed from charges brought in 2022 that Mr. Munir shared blasphemous content via WhatsApp.

Also last week, 17-year-old Abdul Hanan was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in a separate case in the same court, according to court documents. Hanan’s lawyer and family were not immediately available for comment.

Munir’s father, Munir Hussain, denied the charge against his son, saying he was in contact with his legal team to file an appeal, as “my son is innocent and he was implicated in a false case.”

Mr. Hussain said by phone that he was living in hiding along with other members of his family.

“I cannot give you any information about my exact location, as some people in our village believe that I should also be killed as I am the father of a boy who allegedly insulted Islam’s prophet,” he said. “We are Muslims. We love our prophet. No Muslim can even imagine to insult our beloved prophet and my son is innocent,” he said.

Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting the religion or religious figures can be sentenced to death. While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation can provoke riots.

Domestic and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and to settle personal scores. In August 2023, Muslims attacked churches and homes of Christians in the city of Jaranwala, in the eastern Punjab province, over allegations that a Christian man had desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Quran. The mob demolished the man’s house, burned churches and damaged dozens of other homes, drawing condemnation from the government and rights groups.

In December 2021, hundreds of people descended on a sports equipment factory in the Sialkot district, killing a Sri Lankan man and burning his body publicly over allegations of blasphemy.