CHITRAL - A man accused of blasphemy was beaten up inside a mosque in Chitral by a charged-up mob after Friday prayers before the imam saved his life and handed him over to the police.
It was the third blasphemy-related incident in the country this month, after a student was beaten to death by a lynch mob and a faith healer was shot dead.
Security officials in Chitral fired tear gas and live rounds on the mob, injuring eight protesters, after they attacked the local police headquarters and demanded that alleged blasphemer Rashid Ahmed be made available for mob justice.
"We told them that Ahmed will be examined medically and if he was found mentally fit then he will be tried under the blasphemy law, but the mob was not satisfied," said local police chief Akbar Ali Shah.
Shah said he had asked for army assistance to help control the crowds, but a Reuters correspondent at the scene said soldiers had yet to arrive.
However, Frontier Constabulary jawans arrived at the police station to assist the police in quelling the situation, as an estimated 3,000-4,000 people had gathered outside the police station.
Witnesses said that Ahmed entered the local mosque asking to make an important announcement, then declared himself a messiah and said that he would lead his followers to paradise.
The angry congregation then turned violent and attacked Ahmed, who Shah said appeared to be suffering from mental illness. He suffered a beating, but police said his injuries were not life-threatening.
The government has been vocal on the issue of blasphemy, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issuing an order last month for the removal of blasphemous content online and saying anyone who posted it should face "strict punishment under the law".
Police are investigating over 20 students and some faculty members in connection with the killing of Mashal Khan, the student who was beaten to death on April 13 in an attack that shocked the country.
Since then, parliament has discussed adding safeguards to the blasphemy laws, a move seen as groundbreaking in Pakistan where political leaders have been assassinated for even discussing changes.
Imam rescues blasphemy accused
from mob