Police have arrested 44 suspects amid countrywide outrage at another incident of murder of a Christian couple by a mob near Lahore on charge of blasphemy.Not nearly enough evidence against any of them. Let them go. Forget the whole thing, like usual.
The enraged mob on November 4 beat the couple to death and then burnt their bodies in the brick kiln where they worked, for allegedly desecrating a copy of the Holy Quran.
| Seems to be a lot of these allegations going around... |
| "No, no, certainly not!" |
The incident took place in the town of Kot Radha Kishan, some 60 kilometres from Lahore, and is the latest example of mob violence against minorities accused of blasphemy. The victims were only identified by their first names, Shama and Shehzad, and were a married couple.Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, human rights activist Hussain Naqi and other voiced their sense of shock and grief and called for strong action against those who committed the brutal act.
| That was for the westerners' benefit... |
Strongly condemning violence against the Christian couple, Pakistan Peoples Party demanded that the culprits be arrested and given exemplary punishment.Â
Meanwhile, the Amnesty International has asked Pakistan to bring those responsible for the killing of the Christian couple to justice. "Those responsible must be brought to justice and the Pakistani authorities have to ensure at-risk communities are proactively given the protection they need.
"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," David Griffiths, Amnesty International's Deputy Asia Pacific said.
"This type of violence is fueled by Pakistan's repressive blasphemy laws, which add to the climate of fear for religious minorities. A mere accusation of blasphemy is often enough to put a person and their wider community in danger.
"In this case, a mob appears to have played judge, jury and executioner. The blasphemy laws violate international human rights law and standards and should be reformed as a matter of urgency to provide effective safeguards against their abuse, with a view to their eventual repeal," Griffiths said.
Amnesty said that consistent failure by the government to tackle violence in the name of religion has effectively sent the message that anyone can commit outrageous abuses and excuse them as defense of religious sentiments.
| That's pretty much the point... |