Individuals of religious minorities have been demonstrating in protest against Pakistan's blasphemy laws, by which an individual is punished by death if condemned. Activists claim that blasphemy laws are often used wrongly to settle personal matters or to persecute religious minorities.
Shehzad Masih and his wife, Shama Bibi had three children, and Bibi was also four months pregnant. The couple had been working at a brick-making factory to pay off debts.
The two of them were allegedly locked in the factory when word spread that remains of a Quran were discovered in their trash. Locals were gathered as reports say that one particular mosque announced through loudspeakers that they had “desecrated the Quran” and that they had “committed blasphemy.” Once gathered, the crowd dragged them out and attacked them.
Malik Abdul Aziz, a camera man and witness of the incident, described what he saw to Daily Mail.
“They started beating the couple with sticks and bricks, chanting slogans of ‘We will lay down our lives for the honor of the prophet,’ and then tore off their clothes,” he said. “The couple was screaming, begging for mercy and saying they have not committed any sin. The mob dragged them for around 20 yards and laid them on top of the brick kiln oven and kept them there until they were burnt.”
About 45 people have been arrested, and a case has been filed against at least 460 people. Though police did arrive at the scene, some reports say that the couple was already dead by the time they arrived, and other reports say that the mob attacked the police and prevented them from saving the couple.
The incident sparked an outrage among human rights activists, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the incident was an “unacceptable crime.” Activists claim that though blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan, the accusation is often used to settle personal matters. Demonstrations have been ongoing to oppose the intolerance and extremism against religious minorities in Pakistan, in which the majority of the population is Muslim.
