Mubasher Bukhari

LAHORE (Reuters) – A mob lynched a Pakistani man for allegedly burning pages of the Koran, a Muslim holy book, in central Pakistan. Police and officials also said that dozens more people were arrested.

Prime Minister Imran Khan demanded action against the mob, and all police that acted as observers to the crime.

“The law will apply full force and effect to the lynching. In a statement, he stated that “we have zero tolerance for anyone who takes the law into our own hands.”

According to a government spokesperson, more than 60 suspects in the lynching were arrested. Additional information was provided by the Khanewal villagers in Tulamba.

According to Munawar Hussain, a police officer who was assigned the task of investigating the incident told Reuters that the mob gathered in a mosque after its son announced that he saw the man lit up holy books.

Hussain stated that police arrived at the scene to discover the victim unconscious and tied to the tree. He also said that the mob had attacked officers.

Hussain stated, “The villagers armed with iron rods, batons, and axes killed him”

The evidence that police had so far collected suggested that the deceased man (identified as Muhammad Mushtaq) was older than 50 and may have suffered from mental disorders.

The mob shootings of Muslims-majority Pakistan for blasphemy accusations – which can result in the death penalty – have been quite frequent.

Factory workers from Sialkot, an eastern city in Sialkot, lynched and burned the body of a Sri Lankan national in a brutal attack in December. Khan claimed that the incident brought shame to the country.