On Sunday (April 16) night, a frenzied mob of Islamists raised the slogan of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ while demanding punishment for a Chinese national accused of blasphemy.
Although the accused was taken into police custody, this did not stop the mob from baying for his blood. In a video shared by the popular Twitter handle ‘Frontal Force,’ the Islamists were heard saying, “Gustaak-e-Rasool ki ek hi saza, sar tan see juda”.
The loose translation of the disturbing slogan goes “The punishment for insulting/ dishonouring Prophet Muhammad is beheading (separation of the head from the rest of the body).”
Breaking: 1000s of Pakistani awam has surrounded the place where the Chinese engineer accused of Blasphemy has been kept under custody. They are shouting violent slogans of gustakh e rasool ki ek hi saza sar tan se ……
— Frontalforce 🇮🇳 (@FrontalForce) April 17, 2023
Meanwhile, Chinese workers have started leaving Pak now. https://t.co/7N5kEjS12p pic.twitter.com/R41BVO5zOF
“Naarae-e-Takhbeer…Allah hu Akbar(God is Great),” the mob chanted in the hopes of avenging the ‘insult’ of Prophet Muhammad.
In another video posted by “Nepal Correspondence’, the Islamists were heard hailing the Prophet as the last Messenger of God (Khatme Nabuwat). They could also be heard raising the slogan of ‘Sar Tan se Juda.’
𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐇
— Nepal Correspondence (@NepCorres) April 17, 2023
A Chinese engineer has abused #Prophet Muhammad and #Islam in Dasu, KPK, #Pakistan after having a bitter conversation with the workers over the slow pace of work during #Ramadan2023. Workers attacked the #Chinese engineer and chanted "Sar Tan se Juda". Situation Tensed pic.twitter.com/RtIupbkda9
Another video shared on the micro-blogging platform by one Raquf Qadri also showed a large group of Islamists calling for the beheading of a Chinese national on the allegation of blasphemy.
“Chinese engineer has abused #Prophet Muhammad in KPK, #Pakistan after having a bitter conversation with the workers. Workers attacked the #Chinese engineer and chanted “Sar Tan se Juda,” he said in a tweet.
Chinese engineer has abused #Prophet Muhammad in KPK, #Pakistan after having a bitter conversation with the workers. Workers attacked the #Chinese engineer and chanted "Sar Tan se Juda".#BOLPresserForAkash #بنے_گا_نیا_پاکستان #NationSalutes_PakArmy #CPEC #ڈٹ_کے_کھڑاہےاب_کپتان pic.twitter.com/7BmsJuMHeU
— Raquf Qadri (@raquf_qadri) April 17, 2023
On Sunday (April 16), Pakistan police arrested a Chinese engineer (named Mr Tian) working at a hydropower project in Kohistan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on accusations of blasphemy. The Chinese national working in China Gezhouba Group Company was accused of ‘insulting’ Allah.
According to South China Morning Post, Tian had allegedly commented about the slow pace of work during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan, which infuriated the Pakistani employees of the company.
As the news of the argument and alleged blasphemy spread, a charged mob of several hundred people, chanting death threats against Tian, gathered outside the residential camp and began pelting it with stones.
Sialkot mob lynching case
In December 2021, a Sri Lankan man Priyantha Kumara was tortured and burnt to death by a murderous Islamist mob over rumours of blasphemy. The incident took place on Wazirabad Road in Sialkot in Pakistan, where the workers attacked the export manager of a factory and burnt his body after killing him.
In a video, the frenzied mob could be heard chanting “Nara e Taqbeer” and “Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah”. Other slogans that were heard included ‘gustakh-e-nabi ki ek hi saza, sar tan se juda sar tan se juda’.
Following diplomatic pressure from the Sri Lankan government, Pakistan was forced to act on the Islamists who killed Priyantha Kumara. With the help of CCTV footage, the police were able to apprehend 235 people for partaking in the heinous crime.
According to reports, 900 workers of the Rajco Industries were booked under Sections 302, 297, 201, 427, 431, 157, 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Sections 7 and 11WW of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
