London: July 10, 2012. (PCP) Mr. Nasir Saeed, director of CLAAS UK has expressed his concern about the most recent incident of vigilante killing in Pakistan. There is a growing trend of mob attacks on people who have been accused under the blasphemy law, where people take the law into their own hands before the accused is even given the chance to prove their innocence. According to reports the victim, Ghulam Abbas, was mentally ill and allegations of blasphemy against him were being investigated by police. However, after an announcement from the mosque he was grabbed by the public from the police, killed and his body set alight (according to some reports he was burnt alive). Mosques are considered the house of God the most merciful, they are meant to be used for preaching religion, to preach love and peace, not for provoking religious feelings and ordering the killing of someone even if he is a blasphemer. There are no such laws which allow the public to take the law into their own hands and kill an alleged blasphemer. Even the courts cannot hang anyone without them being given a chance to prove him or herself innocent. Perhaps what is most disturbing about this recent attack on Ghulam Abbas is that even by law his alleged crime would not have been punishable by death. For desecrating the Holy Quran, he could have been charged under 295-B which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Pakistan is becoming an aggressive and intolerant nation especially when it comes to matters of Islam and it is worse still when it is a matter of blasphemy laws. “It is definitely a matter of concern and an alarming situation, but we need to try and understand the growing culture of ‘mob justice’ in Pakistan, where many extremists even common Muslim believe they are entitled to take the law into their own hands without waiting for due process to be followed in the judicial system,” said Nasir Saeed. “What is also appalling is that, in many instances, the perpetrators of mob justice are themselves not brought to justice, which has created the impression that the state in Pakistan supports vigilante killings,” he added. Citizens of Pakistan are increasingly accepting mob attacks as a legitimate form of justice, which may explain why many do not intervene when they witness such incidents. The prime minister and President have taken notice of this incident but that is not enough. It is their duty to get justice done and amend the laws which are being misused for the last many years. The government has made and continues to make changes to the constitution then why not the blasphemy laws? If it is assuming that there will be opposition from political and religious groups then they should constitute a committee comprising of religious political leadership of different faiths who could prepare recommendations which can be acted upon accordingly. There is an urgent need for Pakistan to revisit themselves as a nation and for the government too to introduce such legislation to stop the growing trend of vigilante killings in the country. Killing someone and burning them in the name of religion is an inhuman act and a crime unacceptable by all religions and anywhere in the world and it should be stopped.