Pakistan's Human Rights Commission expresses concern over increasing mob violence

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Sunday expressed grave concerns over the increasing mob violence in the country citing a recent case in Karachi where a man was beaten and later shot dead by a crowd on suspicion of robbery.

Taking to Twitter, the human rights watchdog said, "HRCP is perturbed by the seeming rise in mob-led violence, with a suspected robber recently beaten by a crowd in Karachi and then shot dead."

"While this is symptomatic of the increasing brutalisation of society and easy availability of firearms, it is also underpinned by spiralling poverty and people's disillusionment with the rule of law," it added.

The HRCP statement further said that the federal and provincial governments and police should take special measures, including strategic deployment of trained personnel, to control such incidents in the future.

Notably, in the past several months, the cases of mob lynching have increased to an alarming rate in Pakistan.

Last month, on June 29, a suspected robber was caught by the public while snatching mobile phones from a family at Karachi's Jauhar Chowk in Orangi Town.

The suspect was tortured by the public, angry mob allegedly shot at him and later tied his both legs and set him on fire, following which he succumbed to his injuries during treatment at the hospital.

Similarly, a suspect was tortured and lynched by a mob at the Qasba Colony while another man was injured.

In Jungle Dera village of Khanewal district in Pakistan's Punjab province, a mob stoned a middle-aged man to death for allegedly desecrating the Quran.

In another incident, a scrap dealer in Pakistan's Gujranwala was lynched on suspicion of motorcycle theft.

The victim identified as Mohammad Ashraf, who is a scrap vendor, was riding his motorcycle on Monday around 1.30 pm near Pindi Bypass on GT Road when he ran out of fuel and resorted to trudging his vehicle on foot.

"As he reached the pump, screaming and shouting began so I and my companions immediately reached the vicinity of the petrol pump and saw that Ashraf was tied up to a Mazda car and being beaten by a man identified as Waqas Abbas," victim's brother said, as per Dawn.

Media reports claimed that police made 14 arrests in this connection.

Meanwhile, Religious violence in Pakistan is more than that in any other country in the world.

Imran Khan's government is failed to curb the religious violence in Pakistan. Lynching, beheading, and misuse of blasphemy laws are common phenomena in Pakistan, the media reports said.

There has been a surge in attacks on minorities and also their places of worship in Pakistan.

The country has been slammed by the international community for not safeguarding the interests of minorities.

The country has registered thousands of blasphemy and mob violence cases, which are mostly against religious minorities like Hindus, Christians, Shia and Ahmadiya Muslims from 1987 till today, according to several reports by rights groups. A large number of these blasphemy cases in Pakistan are still awaiting justice.

(ANI)

Also Read: Criminal complaint filed against Gotabaya Rajapaksa for 'war crimes'