A Sunni cleric and Khatib of Shahi Mosque in Chitral has saved the life of a man accused of making blasphemous remarks after Friday prayer on April 21, 2017. The man was brutally beaten by an angry mob before the cleric came to rescue and handed the accused to police.

Police took timely action and took the man into their custody. Hours later, more than three thousand people gathered outside the police station demanding to hand them over the accused.

“He (the accused) must be beheaded” one angry man can be heard chanting in a video that was posted on Twitter by an eye witness.

The mob attacked the Chitral Police Station and damaged its gate and windows. Police carried out aerial firing and tear gas shelling to disperse the crowd. Frontier Constabulary also took part to maintain peace in the city and control the crowd.

Shahab Yousafzai, Deputy Commissioner Chitral, has confirmed that a FIR has been lodged against the accused man on blasphemy and terrorism charges.

The local administration is in talks with Ulema to

Just a week ago, Mashal Khan, a student at Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, was brutally killed by an angry mob inside the campus. Mashal Khan was accused of making blasphemous remarks on social media. A violent mob shot and threw Mashal Khan from the second floor of his hostel in front of hundreds of students and university administration.

In the wake of ongoing tensed situation in Chitral city and surrounding towns, the controversial Qaqlasht Festival has been postponed. The District Nazim and management of festival were highly criticized for putting a ban on women’s participation in the annual event. No new date has been announced yet.