News Desk
Lahore, 22 June 2024:
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called on the federal government to take immediate and strict action in response to the recent mob lynching of a 40-year-old man in Swat. The victim, accused of desecrating pages of the Quran—a charge he reportedly denied while in police custody—was brutally lynched by a mob. This marks the second such incident in less than a month, following the death of Nazir Masih in Sargodha.
The HRCP highlighted the alarming frequency and brutality of these incidents, which it says indicate that the state has effectively surrendered its authority in matters of faith-based mob violence. The organization criticized the state’s complicity in fostering radicalization by pandering to and cultivating far-right religious groups and militancy over decades.
“Such incidents are no longer merely a question of problematic laws that are easily weaponized on grounds of blasphemy. They are a direct result of the state’s complicity in faith-based violence,” the HRCP stated. The commission condemned the state’s impunity for perpetrators and indifference in situations requiring decisive action.
The HRCP also pointed out that mob lynchings are no longer confined to faith-based violence. In Karachi, there have been at least three incidents since March where mobs killed suspected criminals. This, the HRCP argues, reflects a near-breakdown of law and order, a deep mistrust in the criminal justice system, and widespread economic and social despair.
The HRCP expressed concern over the National Assembly’s inaction on a proposal to establish a committee to investigate vigilantism. The organization called for the reintroduction of this proposal and the immediate formation of a robust committee. “Nothing less than the full resolve of the Parliament—across all political parties and ideologies—to combat radicalization, hate speech, and faith-based violence is acceptable at this stage,” the HRCP asserted.
Additionally, the HRCP criticized the Council of Islamic Ideology for its inadequate role in countering vigilantism and demanded that it take every possible step to address this issue.