Faisalabad police narrowly prevents lynching of blasphemy accused
Police on Sunday managed to rescue a man from being lynched by an enraged mob over alleged blasphemy in Faisalabad’s Tandlianwala.
Reportedly, a mob armed with clubs and bricks besieged the home of a Shia scholar accused of burning pages of the Holy Quran, and attacked him. Upon receiving an emergency call on 15 at around 5:30 PM, police managed to reach the scene to extract the victim and shift him to an undisclosed location.
The man’s family has also been relocated to another place for their safety.
Police claim the man appears to be mentally ill.
The incident comes just a day after a mentally ill, middle-aged man was stoned to death by an enraged mob for allegedly burning pages of the Holy Quran in Mian Channu, Khanewal.
Five murdered for ‘honour’ in Balochistan
Three women and two men were murdered in the name of honour in Hub, Jaffarabad and Mastung districts of Balochistan in separate incidents last weekend.
In the first incident, a man shot dead his wife and nephew in Goth Faqir Mohammad in Jaffarabad on Friday, while in the second a couple were killed on the outskirts of Mastung. On Sunday, a woman was gunned down by her second husband in Hub on Saturday.
Hindu Gymkhana remains “illegally” occupied
Despite court orders, the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) has yet to vacate the Hindu Gymkhana, a protected heritage building which had been rented to the academy by the Sindh Culture, Tourism, Antiquities and Archives Department nearly 17 years ago.
While hearing the plea of Shri Ratneshwar Maha Dev, a welfare committee of the Hindu community, the Supreme Court of Pakistan in November 2021 ordered the Sindh government and district administration to relocate NAPA, and directed the academy to demolish an auditorium it had built within the premises.
According to the Culture Department, NAPA was barred from making any alterations to the original structure of the building sans the approval of an advisory committee for cultural department per the terms of tenancy in 2005. Violations in this regard would mean the termination of agreement following a three-month notice.
Reportedly, NAPA’s lease was terminated for breach of contract after it had constructed auditorium and marquees without the permission of the Culture Department. The academy was served a notice to vacate the premises in 2008, however it was able to acquire a stay order from the court.
Shri Ratneshwar Maha Dev became party to the case for its reclamation on behalf of the Hindu community in 2014.
The Culture Department has stated that NAPA has refused to relocate until it is provided a prime location in the city. Meanwhile, NAPA has claimed that it is willing to vacate the premises as soon as they are given an appropriate venue, however it has yet to be issued any land or premises by the government so far.
Moreover, the counsel for NAPA told the court that the academy never breached the contract, and that the auditorium and marquee were constructed in open spaces within the Hindu Gymkhana without causing any damage to the original structure of the building.
