An angry mob of Afghani refugees in Pakistan demanded that police release a mentally retarded man accused of burning the Quran so that they could put him to death for blasphemy.
Two children were killed and 19 other people were wounded when police in Quetta, Pakistan open fired on a violent mob that was attacking a police station. The mob, said to have been made of mainly refugees from Afghanistan, was demanding the release of a man who the Afghanis accused of desecrating the Quran.
The man, who police say appeared to be mentally retarded, was taken into custody for an investigation after he allegedly burned pages of the Quran. A senior official from Quetta, Qambar Dashi, was quoted by The Express Tribune as saying, “Chanting the man should be killed for blasphemy, they later entered the police station and started firing,” he said, adding that a senior police officer narrowly escaped while his police guard was wounded in the shooting.
Seven other policemen were among the wounded. The Quetta police chief said that the police fired tear gas shells and opened fire in self-defense. The mob began by torching several vehicles and pelting police with stones before they launched an all-out attack on the police station
