And blasphemy charges
Perhaps the official, social and media storm that came after the recent lynching of Mashal Khan – on charges of blasphemy – petered out before reaching the coastal districts of Balochistan. The mob that surrounded the main police station in Hub seemed pretty intent on tearing to pieces the alleged blasphemy offender held inside. And even though the man in question had been duly arrested, the people of Lasbela still wanted to take control of the matter; meaning they wanted to kill the man, in a visibly inhuman way, there and then.
That police was forced to use tear gas, even apprehend some of the rioters, while shops and businesses remained closed and traffic was paralysed shows just how deeply such passions still run. And, so far, there has been no consistent or streamlined effort on the part of the government to knock some sense into people that dare to take the law into their own hands. Already years, if not decades, behind the curve, the government must urgently incorporate political, legal, social and religious stakeholders to hammer out an action plan that will put an end to mob violence in the cover of religion once and for all.