Pakistan Police Officer Kills Blasphemy Accused In Custody In Balochistan Province

Karachi: A man accused of committing blasphemy was killed by a police officer while in custody in Pakistan 's restive Balochistan province on Thursday, authorities said.

The suspect was being held at a police station in Quetta city when the police officer shot him dead, Quetta Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muhammad Baloch said.

“The officer has been arrested,” he said.

“The police officer managed to get close to the prisoner in jail while posing as his relative who was concerned about his welfare and shot him dead,” he said.

The man was taken into custody by the police earlier this week after a mob tried to lynch him at his shop where he got into an argument with some clerics who had labelled allegations of blasphemy against him.

He was taken to a police station in Kharotabad and later to a heavily fortified police station in Quetta. However, word spread in Quetta about his whereabouts.

When police took him into custody on the western bypass area earlier this week, protesters belonging to the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and other religious parties blocked traffic by placing burning tyres on the road and staged rallies in several parts of the provincial capital.

They later hurled a hand grenade at the Kharotabad police station, which exploded outside the building.

The SSP said that the victim was accused of using objectionable words against the Holy Prophet and his alleged phone conversation was viral on social media, triggering sharp criticism and protests.

Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema Pakistan Senator Abdul Shakoor Khan expressed his solidarity with the police officer.

“The officer took the extreme step because people have no trust in the legal system and people who commit blasphemy should be hanged in 10-days time not be given trials. We will not tolerate anyone issuing blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet," he said.