News Desk
Islamabad, June 22, 2024:
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal condemned the lynching of a man in Swat on Saturday, lamenting the use of religion to justify “street justice” and “vigilantism”. Speaking during the budget debate in the National Assembly (NA), Iqbal highlighted the urgent need for parliament to address “mob justice”, which he said has brought Pakistan “to the brink of destruction”.
A man was killed by a mob over alleged desecration of the Holy Quran in the Madyan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district on Thursday night, resulting in eight injuries. According to a police official, the suspect was moved to a police station but a charged mob attacked the station and took the suspect away. “People set fire to the police station and a mobile vehicle,” the District Police Officer (DPO) stated, adding that the suspect was “torched”. Videos circulating on social media showed a mob surrounding a burning body in the middle of the road and a large crowd outside a police station.
Amid interruptions by Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah, Iqbal reiterated the need for parliament to take stern notice of “mob justice”. “Another mob lynching has happened in Swat and Pakistan is under scrutiny for it,” he said. He pointed out that similar incidents have occurred in Sialkot, Jaranwala, and Sargodha, where individuals accused of desecration were lynched by mobs.
Iqbal also referenced an attempt on his life in 2018 when he was shot by a supporter of the religio-political party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan. “I am grateful that I got a new lease on life after an extremist shot me,” he said. “Even now the bullet is in my body.”
“We must take notice of this incident as our nation is on the brink. We have now reached a point where we are using religion to justify mob violence and street justice, flagrantly violating the Constitution, the law, and the state,” Iqbal lamented. He emphasized that in Islam, “even the bodies of heretics must be shown respect,” noting that it is forbidden to burn bodies. “Not only are mobs killing people, but they are setting the bodies on fire and making a spectacle out of it. It’s shameful.”
“What are we showing the world with this?” he asked, despite the deputy speaker’s attempts to cut him off. Iqbal continued, “We need to think about where we stand in the world […] we are a backwards country. If we do not take notice of this, we will fall into anarchy.”
Concluding his address, Iqbal demanded the formation of a committee to probe these incidents. “It is the ulema’s responsibility to understand how religion has been weaponized to justify mob violence. There must be a committee in place to tackle these incidents so we can be a civilized country.”
Deputy Speaker Shah responded by suggesting that Iqbal, as a cabinet member, confer with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to form the committee. “You should coordinate with your colleague and bring these issues to the [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] chief minister,” Shah said. “Please bring this up at cabinet and not here,” he added.