Share this story!            

Spiritual healer held for blasphemy

By Faraz Khan

KARACHI: Police rescued a man claiming to be a spiritual healer from a crowd of angry residents in Orangi after they attempted to set him on fire.

The incident took place at Chandni Chowk, Orangi Town within the jurisdiction of Pakistan Bazaar Police Station on Thursday.

Abdul Jabbar, 45, who claims to be a spiritual healer, was found setting pages from the Holy Quran on fire. His accomplice Naimatullah presumed to be his devotee was also present at the occasion and helped him in carrying out the blasphemous act. Nearby residents saw smoke rising from Jabbar’s den and upon inspection, they came to know about what the two were doing. The residents informed more people and soon a large mob gathered around Jabbar’s den. The angry mob started torturing Jabbar and his accomplice and later attempted to burn them alive after someone from the crowd suggested that they should throw both the men in the blazing fire inside the den. The police found out about the incident and arrived in time to save the two men from being thrown into the fire.

“At least three thousand people gathered around the den to kill and burn them,” SHO Fasih-uz-Zaman told Daily Times. “We reached there on time otherwise they would have been brunt alive,” said the police officer. The residents were infuriated and did not want to hand the accused over to the police. “Some policemen sustained minor injuries when people lashed out at them and hit them,” said the SHO.

According to the police officer, Jabbar had set alight the Quranic verses for a spell. On the contrary Jabbar denied allegation saying that he had set fire to garbage which also ended up engulfing the papers with sacred verses on them. Quoting Jabbar’s wife, the officer said that Jabbar left his wife and his son five years ago. Jabbar’s wife lives with her family in the same area, and she told police that she repeatedly asked Jabbar to leave his line of work but instead Jabbar left her and his child. The police found material that Jabbar had been using for black magic and reciting spells. An FIR (No 548/08, Under Section 295-B) was filed on behalf of a resident named Qaiser Ayub against Jabbar and his accomplice Naimatullah.

Man killed in firework blasts identified: A young man who was killed in Tuesday’s firecrackers’ explosions in the Samanabad area was identified at the Edhi morgue by his family members.

The deceased was identified as 22-year-old Waqar, a resident of Sabir Colony in Khokrapar and had been working as a driver with Imtiaz-ul-Haq, the man responsible for the explosions.

“His family knew about the death but they did not come to collect the body because they were afraid of the police,” DSP Iftikhar Lodhi told Daily Times. The officer also mentioned that police are conducting raids to apprehend Imtiaz-ul-Haq, who was previously thought to have been killed in the explosion.

Home | Karachi

Share this story!