ISLAMABAD: A 10-member joint investigation team (JIT) has been formed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police after a local tourist was lynched to death in Swat over an accusation of desecrating the Holy Qur’an, confirmed officials on Sunday, noting that 23 suspects have been arrested based on the incident’s CCTV footage.
The tourist, Muhammad Suleman, who belonged to Pakistan’s Sialkot city, was dragged from a local police facility by a mob on Thursday before being tortured, killed and set on fire on suspicion of burning the pages of the Islamic scripture.
According to a notification seen by Arab News, the JIT includes senior police officials along with members of the Counter Terrorism Department, Special Branch and Intelligence Bureau to uncover the facts of the incident and bring those involved to justice.
“The JIT has started systematically collecting evidence, working along modern scientific and technical lines, including performing forensic analysis of the CCTV footage,” Superintendent of Police Hazrat Khan, who is leading the team, told Arab News. “We have also recorded statements from eyewitnesses and are adopting other investigative means.”
Khan said the team was investigating the matter from all possible angles to ensure that the perpetrators of the crime do not evade justice.
Asked about the details of the incident, he said that as soon as the accused was brought to a local police station on the fateful day, a large number of people stormed the building and damaged property and vehicles.
He confirmed the mob took the accused, killed him and then burned his body.
“So far, 23 people have been arrested, and efforts are underway to arrest more of the individuals involved,” he added.
The suspects in the case are facing several charges, including premeditated murder, rioting, unlawful assembly, use of deadly weapons and obstructing public servants in the discharge of their duties.
Giving details of the damages to the police station caused by the enraged mob, the police spokesperson in Swat, Nasir Iqbal, said that two motorcycles, five personal vehicles and one police mobile were set on fire.
He informed the building had also been damaged and ransacked by people.
Iqbal said all arrested individuals were local residents, and no political leader had been found involved in the incident.
“In the police report, 49 people were named after being identified through CCTV footage, and over 2,000 others were listed as unknown suspects,” he added.
Asked about reports of police negligence while dealing with the situation, he said no inquiry had been initiated against the Station House Officer (SHO) of the police precinct that came under attack.
He also maintained that all details of the case would be mentioned in the JIT report which was still investigating the matter.
The incident also came up for discussion in the National Assembly of Pakistan where the defense minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, said on Sunday it was parliament’s responsibility to take a clear stance on the issue.
“It is the responsibility of this parliament to unanimously stand and protect the people and minorities against such violence,” he said during his speech.
The minister added that no one should exploit the incident for political purposes, adding that Islam prohibited the killing of innocent people in the name of religion.
“No evidence of blasphemy has been found against those who were killed across the country in different incidents by mobs and, in many cases, people leveled such allegations to settle personal scores,” he continued.
Speaking to Arab News, security expert Syed Kaleem Imam emphasized the need to build police capacity to handle such sensitive situations and to educate the community to prevent such incidents.
“There are standard operating procedures in place to handle such crimes, but unfortunately, the police often struggle to control the mob or secure the accused due to a lack of understanding of the situation,” Syed Kaleem Imam, former inspector general of police, said.
“There should be more mock exercises for community policing to help the law enforcers deal with such incidents at every level,” he continued, adding that police officials faced undue inquiries and feared for their jobs when they resorted to the use of force in such emergency situations.
Imam also noted the government should stop pandering to popular sentiment and take proper action against such crimes, committed in the name of religion.
“There should be no administrative leniency toward criminals,” he emphasized. “The government should also sensitize the community through mosques and tell them that if anyone commits such crime [of blasphemy], they should be dealt with by the police. The locals should be made to refrain from using loudspeakers at the mosques to spread messages in such sensitive situations.”