On 28 November 2021, religiously motivated arsonists destroyed a police station in Charsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[1][2]
| Charsadda arson attack | |
|---|---|
| Location | Charsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Date | 28 November 2021 |
| Target | police officers |
Attack type | arson attack |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 0 |
Background
editIn Pakistan, blasphemy is a very serious crime which carries the death penalty.[2] The Pakistani government have sentenced some prisoners convicted of blasphemy to death, but have not executed anyone.[2] Some blasphemy suspects have been lynched.[2] Domestic and international human rights groups have said that these laws can be abused and used to persecute religious minorities and to take revenge for personal reasons.[2]
Arrest of blasphemy suspect
editOn 28 November 2021, police arrested an apparently seriously mentally-ill man for allegedly desecrating a Quran by tearing out some its pages.[1] He was taken to Mandani police station in Tangi Tehsil, Charsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northwest Pakistan.[1]
Attack
editLater on the day of the arrest, a group of protesters, whom the police described as a mob of four to five thousand people, gathered outside the police station.[1] They demanded the police hand the suspect to them.[1] The police refused to do so, and during the night the protesters attacked the station, stealing weapons and burning the building down.[1][2] They also set fire to the vehicles in its car park.[1] The police fled, taking the suspect to an undisclosed location.[1] Following the attack, the mob set fire to a police check post on Harichand Road.[1] They blocked the road and staged a sit-in there.[1] The police dispersed them; eyewitnesses said the police used tear gas and aerial firing to do so.[1]
Reaction
editLater, local leaders of Deobandi Sunni political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) demonstrated in Mandani bazaar, demanding the suspect be punished.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sirajuddin (2021-11-28). "Mob sets Charsadda police station on fire after officials refuse to hand over alleged blasphemy suspect". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mob attacks Pakistan police, fails to grab blasphemy suspect". The Independent. 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
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