Pakistan: Christian Couple Beaten, Burnt To Death For Desecrating The Quran

          

A mob attacked a Christian couple after accusing them of desecration of the holy Quran and later burnt their bodies at a brick kiln where they worked

An enraged Muslim mob reportedly beat a Christian couple to death and burnt their bodies in the brick kiln where they worked for allegedly desecrating a Koran. More after the cut...

According to the police, the incident took place on Tuesday at the town of Kot Radha Kishan, some 40 miles southwest of the city of Lahore.

A police official told AFP: 'A mob attacked a Christian couple after accusing them of desecration of the holy Koran and later burnt their bodies at a brick kiln where they worked.

'Yesterday an incident of desecration of the holy Koran took place in the area and today the mob first beat the couple and later set their bodies on fire at a brick kiln,' he added

Daily Mail reports that the incident latest example of mob violence against minorities accused of blasphemy.

Another police official confirmed the incident. The victims were only identified by their first names, Shama and Shehzad, and were a married couple.

Pakistan's brick kiln workers are often subject to harsh practices, with a study by the Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan estimating that 4.5 million are indentured labourers.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has constituted a three-member committee to fast track the investigation of the killings and ordered police to beef up security at Christian neighbourhoods in the province.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in the majority Muslim country, with even unproven allegations often prompting mob violence.

Anyone convicted, or even just accused, of insulting Islam, risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes.

A Christian woman has been on death row since November 2010 after she was found guilty of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed during an argument with a Muslim woman.

An elderly British man with severe mental illness, Mohammad Asghar, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan in January, was shot by a prison guard last month.