- WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT
A mob in north-western Pakistan has broken into a police station, snatched a man who was held there and then lynched him over allegations that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Koran.
The dead man, Mohammad Ismail, was a tourist who had been staying at a hotel in the town when a gang of locals turned on him and accused him of blasphemy.
The attackers also torched 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 the baying crowds swell around their victim, cheering before they torch the man to death.
Photos of the aftermath show overturned and burnt out cars and debris across the street, with concerned locals seen assessing the aftermath of the violent scenes.
Hundreds gathered to lynch the man who was accused of blasphemy, taken from a police station, killed and set on fire
Cheering crowds are seen swarming the victim, who is beaten to death then set on fire
Many in the violent mob were seen filming and cheering on the horrific lynching of the tourist
Police officers examine burnt vehicles which were torched by a Muslim mob in an attack, in Madyan in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
Local residents look at a spot where a Muslim mob lynched and burned a man over blasphemy allegations
Police have registered a case against hundreds of people who took part in the attack, and are trying to identify those involved in attacking the station and killing the man.
Police official Rahim Ullah said officers took the man to the station for his protection but the mob swelled and pursued them.
Hundreds of ‘enraged’ locals then attacked the station, snatched Ismail, beat him to death and then burned his body and left it on the road.
Additional police forces have arrived in Madyan to bring the situation under control, Mr Ullah said.
The victim has been identified in local media as 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 charges of blasphemy can carry the death sentence.
International and national rights groups say blasphemy accusations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.
Women and children look at a spot where a Muslim mob lynched and burned a man over allegations that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book
Burned debris is seen throughout the area where hundreds took part in a violent attack
Armed police examine burnt vehicles which were torched by the Muslim mob in last night’s attack
Plainclothes police officers examine the burnt furniture which were torched by the mob
Last month, a mob in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province launched a deadly attack on a Christian man after accusing him of desecrating pages of Quran.
Nazir Masih, 74, and his son were met with a furious mob at their home in the city of Sargodha, Punjab province, on May 25 after they allegedly desecrated the holy book.
Accusations of blasphemy against Masih are believed to have been false, and his family have denied the claims.
The factory owner and his son were still set on, with attackers punching, kicking and hurling stones at them, before setting the family’s home and Masih’s factory on fire.
Twelve members of Masih’s family managed to escape, while his son was beaten and the pensioner was left with severe injuries before police arrived and managed to pull him away from the mob.
