5 held in mob attack over blasphemy claims in Pakistan
UCA News
October 12, 2026
Police in Pakistan’s Punjab province have arrested five suspects in connection with a mob attack on a village clinic run by a Christian man over allegations of online blasphemy.
Kamran Gill Masih, a traditional medicine practitioner from Gharyal Kalan, a Muslim-majority village in Sheikhupura district, was accused of sharing blasphemous content on social media. The mob set fire to his small dispensary adjoining his home on Oct. 9, police said.
Videos circulating on social media showed men wielding sticks, hurling abuses and chanting “Allah-u-Akbar” and “Behead the blasphemer,” during the attack.
“Police responded promptly, took the person [Masih] who uploaded the reel on his Facebook account into custody and moved his family members to safety,” Assistant Sub-Inspector Muhammad Akhtar Tabassum of Narang police station said.
Fear also gripped the dozen Christian families in the village, and all of them fled their homes, local sources told UCA News.
Tabassum told UCA News on Oct. 10 that things were under control and the Christians had returned home safely.
The police have registered separate cases against Masih, and his attackers were being booked under the penal code and anti-terrorism law.
Tabassum said the five suspects were taken into custody and police teams were searching for the other attackers.
“The public is not cooperating, and we’re identifying the culprits from a video of the attack. Raids are being conducted at various places,” he said.
The village peace committee held an interfaith meet at the local Presbyterian church after Sunday worship on Oct. 11.
“The incident is being exaggerated. Things are being manipulated because of misinformation spread by some YouTubers,” Ghulam Murtaza, another assistant sub-inspector at Narang police station, who was present at the event, said.
He blamed the arson attack on “some miscreants,” adding that the villagers were willing “to provide a surety bond guaranteeing that Christians would not be harmed.”
UCA News contacted some local Christians, but they declined to comment.
Lahore-based Human Rights Focus Pakistan, in an Oct. 11 statement, urged the authorities to investigate the allegation against Masih while seeking protection for him, his family and other Christians in the village.
“An accusation does not establish guilt, and every accused person is entitled to due process, legal representation, and a fair trial,” its president Naveed Walter said, while stressing that no allegation can justify mob violence, arson, intimidation, or collective punishment.
“The rule of law must prevail over mob justice,” he said.
Pastor Amjad Niamat, chairman of the Ecumenism and Interfaith Harmony Commission of the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan, said most blasphemy cases are against Muslims, but only Christian settlements are attacked.
“But we strive for a peaceful society. False allegations become a source of shame for our country on the global stage,” he said.
Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan. Allegations have led to mob attacks on Christian settlements, especially in the Punjab province.
Legal penalties range from heavy fines to life imprisonment or even the death penalty, depending on the offence.
The number of registered blasphemy cases has dropped to 13 so far this year, down roughly two-thirds against comparable periods in recent years, Reuters reported on Aug. 6, quoting the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
