Pakistani brothers arrested for blasphemy after mob burns churches [View all]

Source: Reuters

Pakistani brothers arrested for blasphemy after mob burns churches

Mubasher Bukhari and Asif Shahzad
Updated Fri, August 18, 2023 at 10:05 AM EDT·2 min read

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) -Pakistani police have arrested two Christian brothers accused of blasphemy, a spokesperson and a source said on Friday, two days after a Muslim mob burnt churches and houses, blaming the two men for desecrating the Koran.

Pages of the Koran were found in a street with derogatory comments written on them in red, police said. One attached extra page also carried the names, addresses and national identity card numbers of the accused, provincial police chief Usman Anwar said.

Police were investigating all angles as to why the names and addresses would be attached, he told Reuters. A court ordered the two suspects to be held in police custody for seven days for questioning, a government spokesperson said.

Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan but no one has ever been executed. Numerous accused have been lynched by outraged mobs. A former provincial governor and a minister for minorities were shot dead for trying to reform the blasphemy law.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/pakistani-police-arrest-two-christians-063849406.html

Original Reuters link (paywall): https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistani-police-arrest-two-christians-accused-blasphemy-2023-08-18/