Police Officer Kills Blasphemy Suspect in Custody in Pakistan

A police officer in Quetta, Pakistan, killed a man held on blasphemy charges, pretending to be his relative to gain access. The suspect was previously moved to a fortified station due to mob threats. Blasphemy charges in Pakistan often lead to violent mob actions, although the state has never executed anyone for it.

A police officer killed a man being held in custody on suspicion of blasphemy charges in southern Pakistan, police said on Thursday.

Muhammad Baloch, the senior superintendent of police in Quetta, the provincial capital of southwestern Balochistan, confirmed that the police officer responsible for the killing had been arrested. The officer, whose name has not been disclosed, gained entry into the police station by pretending to be a relative of the blasphemy suspect before opening fire.

The blasphemy suspect had been taken into custody earlier in the week and moved to a heavily fortified station due to a mob gathering and demanding his extrajudicial handover. Despite blasphemy being a capital offense in Pakistan, executions by the state have not occurred, though mob lynchings of accused individuals are common.

Recent blasphemy accusations have incited violent mob actions in Pakistan. Last year, mobs attacked Christian neighborhoods in eastern Punjab province, displacing hundreds. In another incident in June, a mob beat a man to death in northern Pakistan after accusing him of burning pages of the Koran.

(With inputs from agencies.)