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.”



www.vanguardngr.com/2014/11/christian-couple-killed-desecrating-koran-pakistan/