AN INQUIRY revealed that a doctor accused of blasphemy was killed in a staged police shootout last week in Pakistan, following violent protests by Islamists, according to a minister last Thursday (26).
The minister ordered criminal proceedings against the involved officers.
This was the second such incident of a killing in police custody within a week. Dr Shah Nawaz, working in Umerkot, southern Pakistan, went into hiding after being accused by local clerics of blasphemy due to a Facebook post. His family stated that the post was made on an old, hacked account.
Despite violent protests that saw attacks on police stations and vehicle burnings led by the clerics, Nawaz surrendered to the police after assurances he would be able to prove his innocence. However, his family claims he was subsequently killed in a contrived shootout.
“The inquiry determined it was a fake shootout and a custodial death,” said Zia Lanjar, home minister of Sindh province, citing a 31-page report during a news conference.
The implicated officers include a deputy inspector general and two senior officers.
Human rights groups noted that local clerics and some politicians celebrated the officers’ actions, even garlanding them and showering them with rose petals at events.
While Reuters could not independently verify these accounts or the authenticity of the related social media posts, Lanjar expressed his government’s opposition to extremism.
Thousands of human rights activists have rallied against the killing, demanding justice and chanting slogans against Islamist extremism.
Blasphemy is punishable by death in predominantly Muslim Pakistan. No one has been executed by the state for the crime, but the issue is so sensitive that dozens of people accused of blasphemy have been lynched by mobs before a trial could begin.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom says the South Asian country is one of the world’s strictest and most frequent enforcers of blasphemy laws.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)