On 12 February 2022, Mushtaq Ahmed was killed by a mob in Punjab, Pakistan, after being accused of blasphemy.[1] [2]
See main article: Blasphemy in Pakistan and List of blasphemy cases in Pakistan. Blasphemy is a very serious crime in Pakistan, for which the maximum penalty is death.[1] [2] Pakistan has sentenced people convicted of blasphemy to death, although it had not executed any of them.[1] Some people who were accused of blasphemy were lynched, most recently Priyantha Kumara in Sialkot, Punjab, on 3 December 2021.[1] [2] International and national human rights groups say that blasphemy accusations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities.[1] [2]
On the evening of 12 February 2022, in Tulamba, Mian Channu Tehsil, Khanewal District, Punjab, Pakistan, Mushtaq Ahmed was accused by the custodian of a mosque of burning a Quran inside the building.[1] [2] A mob beat the 41-year-old mentally ill man to death using batons, axes and iron rods, and hanged him on a tree.[1] [2] The police, who were greatly outnumbered by the mob, failed in an attempt to arrest Ahmed.[1] Three police officers were injured; the force arrested about 80 men in connection with the killing.[1] [2] Ahmed's funeral was held on 13 February.[2]