Police fatally shoot a blasphemy suspect in Pakistan in 2nd such killing in a week

Associated Press

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Officials in Pakistan say police have shot dead a blasphemy suspect during an alleged shootout with armed men in the southern province of Sindh, the second such apparent extra-judicial killing in a week, drawing strong condemnation from human rights groups. Police identified the slain man as Shah Nawaz, a medical doctor, who had gone into hiding two days ago after being accused of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and sharing blasphemous content on social media. Though killings of blasphemy suspects by mobs are common, the extra-judicial killings by police are rare in Pakistan, where accusations of blasphemy — sometimes even just rumors — often spark rioting and rampage by mobs that can escalate into lynchings.