Police said on June 24th that a 14-year-old boy in Pakistan reportedly stabbed a man belonging to the country’s Shia Muslim minority to death for allegedly speaking against the companions of the Prophet Muhammad in Punjab province.
A 14-year-old kid named Rehan stabbed an elderly man repeatedly and killed him in the Pakistani city of Gujrat, Punjab after a sectarian debate. pic.twitter.com/BO0aAOjVue
— MD Umair Khan (@MDUmairKh) June 24, 2024
The incident, which occurred on June 23rd in Kunjah in Punjab’s Gujrat district, came just days after a man in the city of Swat in northeastern Pakistan was lynched to death by an angry Muslim mob for allegedly desecrating the Quran.
A senior police officer said the minor seminary student stabbed 55-year-old Nazir Hussain Shah to death after his father and uncle’s remarks incited him. The boy’s father, who serves as a prayer leader at a Sunni mosque, and his uncle had told him Shah would often speak against the companions of the Prophet.
"Getting motivated by the words of his father and uncle, the enraged teenager took a knife from his house and confronted Shah on Sunday afternoon, stabbing him multiple times and killing him on the spot. The boy then fled the scene," the police officer said, adding that a police team was formed to apprehend the boy.
Pakistan: A 14-year-old Sunni #Muslim Rehan qadri murdered a middle-age Shia man accused him #blasphemy following an argument over a sectarian issue. pic.twitter.com/QLCWB6Pj75
— Faraz Pervaiz (@FarazPervaiz3) June 25, 2024
A case was also registered against the boy’s father and uncle under various sections of Pakistan’s Penal Code.
Blasphemy carries a death sentence in the Muslim-majority nation, and while some have been sentenced to death for blasphemous acts, a sentence is yet to be carried out for blasphemy. However, mere allegations of blasphemy can often lead to mob violence and lynchings.
Many human rights groups often note that blasphemy accusations are frequently used to settle personal scores and intimidate Pakistan’s religious minorities, such as Christians, Hindus, and Shia Muslims.
