Lynching of Mushtaq Ahmed

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]