It may not represent the sweeping, top-down reform needed to combat extremism and bigotry, but the arrest of the three policemen involved in the murder of Dr. Shah Nawaz Kunbhar in Mirpurkhas is a step in the right direction. These officers, who have admitted to committing murder in the name of religion while posing as protectors of the public, must face the full weight of the law. The crime, committed within the premises of a police station, demands the highest level of accountability.

If religious clerics and extremist groups can incite mobs and lead them to acts of violence, the state must establish its own deterrent—through the strict application of the law and exemplary punishment to discourage future vigilantes. This cannot end with the arrest of the policemen who carried out the crime. While the anti-terrorism court in Mirpurkhas has granted a five-day interim bail to Pir Agha Umar Jan Sarhandi, the cleric accused in the FIR of inciting the mob that led to the burning of the victim’s body, such figures must also be held accountable.

These clerics use pawns, like the police constables in Mirpurkhas, to advance their agenda of religious extremism. They corrupt, incite violence, and cloak these actions in religious justification. Until clerics who incite mobs are arrested and face consequences for the violence triggered by their sermons, they will continue to act as an untouchable force, capable of branding anyone a blasphemer and calling for their murder.

There is a long road ahead for the police and the government, but the hope is that this case will not fade into obscurity as public pressure wanes. Instead, it should lead to convictions that set a precedent, providing justice for future generations.