- WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT
A mob in northwestern Pakistan stormed a police station, kidnapped a man who was detained there and then lynched him over accusations that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Koran.
The dead man, Mohammad Ismail, was a tourist staying at a local hotel when a gang of locals turned on him and accused him of blasphemy.
The attackers also set fire to the station in Madyan, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and burned police vehicles parked there, according to local police officials.
Horrific footage shows the moment howling crowds surround their victim, cheering before burning the man to death.
Photos of what happened show overturned and burned cars and debris across the street, and worried locals are seen assessing the consequences of the violent scenes.
Hundreds of people gathered to lynch the man accused of blasphemy, taken from a police station, murdered and burned
A crowd is seen cheering the victim, who is beaten to death and then burned.
Many members of the violent mob were seen filming and applauding the horrific lynching of the tourist.
Police officers examine vehicles burned by a Muslim mob in an attack, in Madyan, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Local residents look at the site where a Muslim mob lynched and burned a man over blasphemy accusations
The police have registered a case against hundreds of people who participated in the attack and are trying to identify those involved in the attack on the station and the murder of the man.
Police officer Rahim Ullah said officers took the man to the police station to protect him, but the mob increased and chased them.
Hundreds of “angry” locals attacked the station, kidnapped Ismail, beat him to death and then burned his body and abandoned it on the road.
Additional police forces have arrived in Madyan to control the situation, Ullah said.
The victim has been identified in local media as a tourist from Sialkot, Punjab.
It was not immediately known if any of the attackers were arrested.
Attacks on people accused of blasphemy are common in this conservative Islamic nation where blasphemy charges can carry the death penalty.
National and international rights groups say blasphemy accusations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.
Women and children look at the site where a Muslim mob lynched and burned a man accused of desecrating Islam’s holy book.
Burned debris is seen throughout the area where hundreds of people took part in a violent attack.
Armed police examine vehicles burned by Muslim mob in last night’s attack
Plainclothes police officers examine furniture burned by the mob
Last month, a mob in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province launched a deadly attack on a Christian after accusing him of desecrating pages of the Koran.
Nazir Masih, 74, and his son were greeted by an angry crowd at their home in the city of Sargodha, Punjab province, on May 25 after they allegedly desecrated the holy book.
The blasphemy accusations against Masih were believed to be false and his family has denied them.
The factory owner and his son continued to be attacked, with the attackers punching, kicking and throwing stones at them, before setting fire to the family home and Masih’s factory.
Twelve members of Masih’s family managed to escape, while his son was beaten and the pensioner was seriously injured before police arrived and managed to get him away from the crowd.