Prayer leader lynched over blasphemy in KP’s Mardan

KABUL (Pajhwok): A crazed mob lynched a prayer leader at a political rally in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan city over blasphemy accusations late Saturday.

According to police, the incident took place during a political rally on Saturday night in the Sawal Dher area.

Nigar Alam — a local cleric — was attacked by hundreds of people attending the rally after he allegedly “passed blasphemous remarks” as the gathering was about to conclude.

Police escorted Nigar to a shop in a market where the rally was being held, but the angry mob broke into the shop and started attacking him with punches, kicks and clubs.

Nirgar died during the attack before police dispersed the crowd and recovered the body.

Mardan police chief (operations) Rokhanzeb Khan told Dawn.com that police had begun collecting evidence from the site and investigations were underway.

However, a first information report (FIR) of the incident has not been registered yet, and no arrests been made so far.

Five years ago in Mardan, 23-year-old Mashal Khan — a Mass Communication student at the Abdul Wali Khan University — was also lynched by a mob and shot at over allegations of blasphemy on April 23, 2017.

In February 2022, a middle-aged man was stoned to death by a mob over the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran in a remote village of Khanewal district.

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