Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has termed the killing of a tourist by an angry mob in Swat on the charge of insulting Quran as a cause of shame for the entire nation.
Federal Minister for Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Wednesday night in Madin area of Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa called the incident of killing a tourist by throwing him out of the police station on the charge of blaspheming the Quran as a 'shame for the entire nation' Caused.
In his address on the floor of the National Assembly on Sunday, he said that the increasing incidents against the minorities in the country are a source of shame for the entire nation.
He said that there should be a consensus in the house on the issue of minorities because it is not a political or controversial issue.
He said that Pakistan is being defamed while the opposition is not serious, we are being abused, it is very shameful.
We want to submit a resolution that minorities have the same right to live in this country as Muslims have, this country does not belong to any one majority, this country belongs to all Pakistanis whether they are Muslims, Christians or Sikhs. or belonging to any religion. Our constitution gives full protection to minorities.'
The Defense Minister said that incidents like Swat, Faisalabad and Sargodha are a momentary concern. "When this subject is discussed in the largest house of Pakistan, the opposition tries to strangle this voice by raising slogans."
23 named accused arrested
Swat District Superintendent of Police (DPO) Dr. Zahidullah said on Sunday that 23 named accused have been arrested so far in the case of the killing of the accused of blaspheming the Quran and the attack on the police station in Madin.
Regional Police Officer (Chief of Police, Malakand Division) Ali Muhammad told the media in Madin on Friday that two cases have been registered in connection with the incident.
He said that one case was registered against the deceased for blasphemy, while another case was registered against the angry people for rioting and damaging property in the police station.
Dr. Zahidullah told Independent Urdu today that 'so far 23 people named in this case have been arrested, while an FIR has been registered against 49 known and 2500 unknown people involved in this incident.'
According to him: 'Operations are underway to arrest more people involved in the incident.'
Swat Police said that in the case registered against the agitators , the provisions of Pakistan Penal Code 302, 324, 353, 341, 427, 436, 186, 148 and provisions of terrorism have been added.
According to the police, the provisions refer to various types of crimes, including murder and attempted murder, damage to government property, interference with government, unlawful assault, sedition against the state and obstruction of government investigations. Includes putting.
A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has also been formed to probe the incident on Saturday.
A statement issued by the DPO office said that the committee will be headed by SP Investigation Badshah Hazrat while other members include police investigation officers, Special Branch, CTD officials and IT experts.
Last day, during the meeting of the National Assembly, Federal Minister for Development and Planning Ahsan Iqbal had said that after the torture and killing of a tourist on the charge of blasphemy by an angry mob in Swat, Pakistan has become a laughing stock throughout the world. is happening and the House should take notice of it.
Speaking during the budget session in the National Assembly on Saturday, Ahsan Iqbal said that if there was a single incident, it could have been tolerated, but it is a series of incidents.
"This kind of incident happened in Sialkot, this kind of incident happened in Jardanwala, it happened in Sargodha, we escaped this kind of incident in Achhra."
The Federal Minister said: 'I request that the House should take notice of this incident because our society has reached the brink of a disaster where street justice is being done on the streets, mob lynching. ) by using the name of religion to trample all the basic principles of the constitution, law and state.'
Who was the tourist killed by the angry mob?
On Friday, the police had also revealed the details of the person who was killed. According to Dr. Zahidullah, the deceased Muhammad Sulaiman belonged to Sialkot.
He said that the deceased was addicted to drugs while the family members had announced their separation from him through a newspaper statement in November 2023.