Pakistani authorities have begun an investigation to identify and arrest members of a mob that killed a local tourist accused of blasphemy, after they ransacked a police station holding him in protective custody, officials said on Friday.
A mob beat the man to death on Thursday night after accusing him of blasphemy. They set the police station in the country’s northwest ablaze and injured eight policemen, Malankand division’s regional police chief Mohammad Ali Gandapur told Reuters.
“After initially rescuing the man from a crowd, the police took him to the station in Madyan, but announcements from mosque loud speakers asked locals to come out,” Gandapur said, after which the mob stormed the station.
Graphic videos of the latest incident, verified to Reuters by the police, showed a frenzied mob dragging a bloodied body through the streets, and then setting it on fire. The footage went viral on social media and sparked outcry amongst Pakistani users.
KP CM Gandapur said the situation was under control and a case registered against the organisers of the mob. He added the man had been visiting the Swat Valley, a popular tourist destination, for the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha.
Last month, a Christian man in his seventies was attacked by a mob on charges of blasphemy and later died of his injuries in eastern Pakistan.
