Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government has zero tolerance for anyone taking the law into their own hands.
The prime minister took to Twitter to show his anger at the recent incident of mob lynching in Khanewal’s tehsil Mian Channu.
The man was stoned to death by a mob for alleged blasphemy.
In his statement on Sunday, the premier said that mob lynching incidents would be dealt with strictly according to the law.
The premier said that he has sought a report from the inspector general of Punjab police on the progress of action against the culprits and his force’s failure to maintain law and order.
“We have zero tolerance for anyone taking the law into their own hands & mob lynchings will be dealt with full severity of the law. Have asked Punjab IG for report on action taken against perpetrators of the lynching in Mian Channu & against the police who failed in their duty,” he wrote.
THE INCIDENT: A man, identified as Mushtaq, was stoned to death by a mob for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran in Jungle Dera, a remote village of Khanewal.
According to a reported published in Dawn, hundreds of men, infuriated by the announcements after Maghrib prayer that a man had torn some pages of the Holy Quran and set them on fire, hanged him by a tree and stoned him to death.
According to an eyewitness, police arrived on the spot well before the stoning and had arrested Mushtaq, but the mob refused to listen to him, “snatched him from the custody” and killed him.
Meanwhile, Punjab police spokesperson said that a case has been registered against the lynching under sections pertaining to murder and terrorism on the relevant SHO’s behalf.
He said that 33 known and 300 unidentified suspects have been nominated in the case and some have been arrested as well.
The police said that raids are being carried out to arrest more suspects.
SHIREEN MAZARI: Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari condemned the incident and said that the culprits would not be allowed to escape punishment.
She said that the Punjab government acted like a silent spectator at the time of the incident.
Taking to Twitter, the minister said that laws police should implement the laws and not let mobs do as they please.
She also urged the provincial government to take immediate action against police for letting such an incident happen again.
“The mob lynching of a man in Mian Channu is condemnable & cannot be allowed to go unpunished. Punjab govt must immediately take action against the police that watched it happen & the perpetrators. Laws exist – the police must enforce these laws & not allow mobs to rule the day,” Mazari wrote.
FAWAD CHAUDHRY: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry also reacted to the gruesome incident, saying that he has repeatedly drawn attention towards preaching extremism in the education institutions of Pakistan.
“Incidents like Sialkot and Mian Channu lynching are an outcome of the educational system enforced in the country for decades,” Fawad said, adding that the matter is both about the implementation of law and deterioration of society.
The minister warned of major destruction if “reforms are not made on schools, police stations and pulpits level.”
