Pakistan rights group demands an end to mob killings » Capital News

June 24 – The Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Asad Iqbal Butt, has demanded that the federal government take decisive and immediate action to prevent future incidents of mob killings and lynchings.

In a statement referencing the recent mob killing incident in Swat, Pakistan, HRCP highlighted the state’s failure to prevent violence in the name of religion. “The brutal killing by the mob in Swat, along with a similar incident just a month earlier, shows a disturbing trend. The state is failing to prevent such violence,” HRCP stated. The victim in Swat had reportedly denied the charge of desecrating the Holy Quran while in police custody. “The brutality of the killing, the mob’s self-righteous piety, and the occurrence of two such incidents in less than a month, following the killing of Nazir Masih in Sargodha, clearly indicate a serious issue,” the statement added.

HRCP Chairman Butt condemned these incidents as products of hatred fueled by extremism. “These incidents are not just a result of bad laws being misused in the name of blasphemy. They are the direct consequence of decades of policies that have pandered to and nurtured far-right groups and extremism,” he stated on ‘X’.

The HRCP statement further criticized the state’s complicity in these crimes. “The state has given free rein to those who perpetrate violence in the name of faith. In cases where decisive action is required, it often fails to act. Mob killings are not limited to religious violence; there have been at least three incidents in Karachi since March where mobs have seized and tortured suspected criminals to death. This indicates a severe breakdown in law and order, a mistrust in the criminal justice system, and frustration with economic and social conditions,” HRCP noted.

HRCP also expressed regret that the Pakistani parliament had not considered a proposal to form a committee to investigate incidents where civilians took the law into their own hands. “It is disappointing that the House did not consider the proposal to form a National Assembly committee to investigate this issue. This proposal should be presented again, and a committee should be formed immediately,” the statement urged.

Furthermore, HRCP emphasized that solving this problem requires Parliament to take a strong stand against fundamentalism, hate content, and violence in the name of religion, setting aside political differences. “We can only address this issue if Parliament shows a firm commitment against fundamentalism, hate content, and violence in the name of faith, beyond political affiliations and ideologies. The weak role of the Islamic Ideological Council has also been noted. The Council is urged to make every effort to eradicate this tendency to take the law into one’s own hands in the name of faith,” HRCP concluded on X.

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