A new tragedy linked to blasphemy has unfolded in Pakistan, where cases of lynching mobs acting with impunity in the name of religion are becoming more and more frequent amid the inaction of the authorities and the silence of international community. The latest incident occurred on June 22 in the Swat Valley. The victim, Mohammad Ismail, was on vacation when he was attacked and torched alive for burning pages of the Qur’ân. Such a story clearly illustrates how Pakistan state is incapable of guaranteeing safety and security to its citizens. Instead, powerful groups rule, their violent ideology contributing to the list of innocent victims, people like Mashal Khan, Shama and Shahzad, Priyantha Kumara, Nazir Masih, and now Mohammad Ismail.
Another victim is Allah Rakhi, the widow of 72-year-old Christian Nazir Masih, who died from the effects of the traumatic experience of seeing her husband killed. Since 1987 when blasphemy became an offence, dozens of people have been reportedly lynched by mobs, based on specious charges used to settle personal scores, exact revenge, justify extrajudicial killings, and target religious minorities, like Christians and Ahmadis. In this latest case, police had arrested Mohammad Ismail and charged him with blasphemy for burning Arabic-language papers. But an angry mob came to the Madyan Swat police station demanding the officers hand over the man to be executed on the spot. When police refused, a group stormed the station. After injuring some agents and vandalising the premises, they took the victim from his cell to lynch, and burnt him alive while shouting extremist slogans.