Multan woman accuses husband of desecrating Holy Quran

A woman in Multan accused her husband of desecrating the Holy Quran and urged neighbours to report him to the authorities, it emerged on Monday.

The Punjab police arrested the man and filed a first information report (FIR) based on his wife's accusations of Holy Quran disrespect.

The suspect was charged with blasphemy under section 295B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Videos circulating on social media showed a large crowd surrounding a policeman who displayed the FIR to onlookers at the scene.

"They [police] have registered an FIR, and this cruel person will pay for his actions,” a man from the mob said in the video.

A cop assured the protesters that the “suspect would face the death penalty.”

I am not sure if that FIR (in video) is same as the one which I have for that following tweet-case. FIR seems to be different.

However, the police station is same, case is also registered because of disprespecting Holy Quran, and the neighbors are involved, so I am assuming the… https://t.co/NTbisgxEBV pic.twitter.com/wr2HeD1olu

— P.⚡️ (@TweetsOfPR) September 22, 2024

In a similar incident, a man accused his brother of allegedly disrespecting the Holy Quran.

A mob gathered at the North Cantt Police Station in Lahore, demanding action against the suspect.

In August, a blasphemy case arose from a domestic dispute in Lahore's Badami Bagh area.

During a quarrel between a couple, neighbours intervened and alleged that the husband had allegedly insulted the Holy Quran.

On Thursday, an alleged suspect of blasphemy, Dr Shahnawaz, was killed in a police encounter in Sindh's Umerkot.

He was dismissed from his job at a public hospital following accusations of posting derogatory remarks against the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PUBH) by local religious leaders.

Before the incident, Dr Shahnawaz clarified in a video that he did not operate the social media account that had sparked controversy.

According to the Centre for Social Justice, a total of 556 people are imprisoned in Pakistan for blasphemy, including 22 women. 

Some of these individuals have been convicted, while the cases against most of them are pending in various courts.