Bombing at political rally kills 9 in Pakistan

 
No Author Published: December 22, 2012    Comment on this article Leave a comment

photo - Pakistani plainclothes police officers and local residents examine at the site of a suicide bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed several people including a provincial government official at a political rally held Saturday by a party that has opposed the Taliban, officials said. (AP Photo/Sohail Iqbal)
Pakistani plainclothes police officers and local residents examine at the site of a suicide bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed several people including a provincial government official at a political rally held Saturday by a party that has opposed the Taliban, officials said. (AP Photo/Sohail Iqbal)

Multimedia

The case is likely to raise further concerns about the country's harsh blasphemy laws, which can result in a death sentence or life in prison to anyone found guilty. An accusation or investigation alone can lead to deaths, as people take the law into their own hands and kill those accused of violating it. Police stations and even courts have been attacked by mobs.

Police arrested the man on Friday after being informed by residents that he had burned a Quran inside a mosque where he had been staying for a night, said local police official Biharud Deen.

An angry mob of more than 200 people then broke into the police station in the southern town of Dadu and took the accused man, who they say was under questioning. Deen said police tried their best to save the man's life but were unable to stop the furious crowd.

Police have arrested 30 people for suspected involvement in the attack, said Deen. The head of the local police station and seven officers had been suspended, he said.

Past attempts by governments in predominantly Muslim Pakistan to review these laws have met with violent opposition from hardline Islamist parties.

In southwestern Pakistan, gunmen late Friday killed 11 Pakistanis and Afghans who were trying to cross into neighboring Iran to travel on to Europe as illegal immigrants, said local government official Zubair Ahmed. The shooting took place in Sunsar town in Baluchistan province, he said.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but hundreds of Pakistanis and Afghans are captured by Iranian border guards every year for illegally trying to travel to Europe to find better jobs.

___

Associated Press writers Abdul Sattar in Quetta, Pakistan, and Adil Jawad in Karachi, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

Page 2 of 2




If you prefer your thoughts to appear in The Oklahoman's Opinion section, we encourage you to submit a letter to the editor.


ASCC Hot Stock Pick
Dynamic Company, Growing Market - Huge Opportunity, Invest Now!
www.LuxuriaBrands.com
New Rule in VIRGINIA:
(MAY 2013): If You Pay For Car Insurance You Better Read This...
www.ConsumerFinanceDaily.com

News Photo Galleriesview all