A Pakistani police officer killed a man in custody with an axe on November 5, later alleging that the victim had committed blasphemy. Syed Tufail Haider, 45,  had been arrested the previous day for wounding two people in Gujrat, where he had gone to attend a majlis. During an interrogation, 36-year-old assistant sub-inspector Faraz Naveed got involved in a heated discussion with Haider and reportedly struck him on the neck with an axe that was lying in the room. The blow resulted in Haider’s immediate death. However, Naveed later alleged that Haider had made derogatory comments about the Prophet. Naveed’s colleagues alleged that Haider was mentally unsound.

“Tufail was kept in the lock-up but he continued uttering derogatory remarks and hurled abuse at policemen. He looked like a malang (wandering preacher) and seemed mentally imbalanced. … Faraz Naveed became very angry on hearing the derogatory remarks against the companions of the Prophet and he killed the detainee with an axe in the lock up,” duty officer Ali Raza said.

Naveed has since been arrested and the axe he used to kill Haider has been taken into evidence. Additionally, Haider’s body has been sent to a local hospital for postmortem. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has ordered a detailed investigation of the incident.

This tragic incident comes only two days after a Christian couple was burnt to death inside a brick kiln for allegedly damaging pages from the Quran. The lady, who had three children, was pregnant with her fourth child at the time of her death. Not only did the Pakistani government condemn this incident, but the Prime Minister too said those responsible for the couple’s death would be met with appropriate punishment.

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are a very sensitive issue and more often than not, unproven allegations call for mob violence. Any person convicted or even accused of insulting the Prophet or Islam risks dying a bloody death at the hands of self-proclaimed vigilantes.

Photo Credits: Christians in Pakistan