KARACHI, Pakistan — A doctor in southern Pakistan who faced blasphemy allegations was killed in a police raid during an attempted arrest, authorities reported Thursday, September 19, 2024.
The overnight incident in Sindh province marks the second fatal shooting of a blasphemy suspect by police in Pakistan within a week.
Shah Nawaz, a Muslim doctor from Umerkot district, was shot dead by police while allegedly fleeing arrest, according to local police officer Niaz Khoso.
The officer stated that Nawaz, along with another man, was attempting to evade arrest on a motorcycle when they ignored a police checkpoint and opened fire on officers, leading to a fatal exchange of gunfire.
Nawaz had been dismissed from his position at the district’s main public hospital earlier this week after being accused of sharing “blasphemous posts” on Facebook that allegedly desecrated the Prophet Muhammad.
The doctor denied the charges and disowned the social media account in question. However, violent protests by religious activists erupted in Umerkot, demanding his immediate arrest.
While authorities claim Nawaz was armed and resisted arrest, critics often question such police narratives in a country where extrajudicial killings by law enforcement have been widely documented.
“This pattern of violence in cases of blasphemy, in which law enforcement personnel are allegedly involved, is an alarming trend,” the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said in a statement on Thursday, urging an independent inquiry into Nawaz’s death.
The killing comes on the heels of a similar incident last week in Quetta, where a police officer fatally shot Abdul Ali, a 52-year-old hotel owner who was being held in custody on blasphemy charges.
Ali had been arrested for allegedly posting derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad on social media.
His death sparked outrage, but his family later announced at a news conference that they had “forgiven” the officer responsible and would not pursue charges, citing religious reasons.
The HRCP expressed concern over both killings, warning that law enforcement’s involvement in blasphemy-related violence sets a dangerous precedent.
“We are gravely concerned by the alleged extrajudicial killings of Shah and Ali,” the commission stated.
Blasphemy remains a highly charged issue in Pakistan, where accusations often result in mob violence, even against individuals in police custody.
While Pakistan’s laws prescribe the death penalty for blasphemy, no official execution has ever been carried out.
Nevertheless, allegations frequently lead to brutal violence, with mobs lynching suspects across the country.
International human rights organizations have long criticised Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, arguing that they are often misused to settle personal disputes or target minorities.
A report released earlier this week by the U.S.-based Clooney Foundation for Justice supports these claims, asserting that defendants accused of blasphemy face long, gruelling legal battles and protracted imprisonment as judges remain wary of a backlash from religious groups.
The report highlights that hundreds of suspects, primarily Muslims, languish in Pakistani jails awaiting trial.
Meanwhile, rising accusations and vigilante justice have raised fears of escalating violence under the pretext of blasphemy.
