Hub incident: Blasphemy accused sent to jail

Violence erupted last week in Hub after a minority community trader was accused of sharing blasphemous content

QUETTA: The district administration of Lasbela has said that a man suspected of committing blasphemy in Hub has been sent to jail after his arrest with all relevant evidence.

Violence erupted last week in the Hub city of Balochistan’s Lasbela district after a 29-year-old minority community trader was accused of sharing blasphemous content on social media. The violence had left a 12-year-old boy dead and several police officials injured.

“The case will be further investigated by the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA),” Lasbela’s District Police Officer Zia Mandokhail told the media at the District Headquarter Uthal.



Over other issues in Lasbela district, the DPO praised the police, saying that they have succeeded in rooting out incidents of ransom for kidnapping and extortion from the district.

During the last one month, he said, 30kg drugs and 8kg opium have been seized and 17 snatched bikes recovered, with accused taken in custody as well. He added that 31 cases of oil smuggling from Iran had also been registered, with 53,000 litres of diesel seized.

Mandokhail said currently the Lasbela police had been working to control the crime despite the availability of meagre resources, adding that the police also suffered a shortage of manpower.

“Police jawans in large numbers have been deputed to provide security to courts, national and multi-national companies and VIPs,” he complained.



Responding to a question, the DPO said a few police stations were not in good conditions in Lasbela and steps were being taken to improve infrastructure.

“The PC-1 [project concept] for renovation of some police stations has been prepared on the directives of the Director General of Police Khuzdar Region and hopefully work would begin soon,” he said.

Answering another question, Mandokhail said eight people accused of extortion had been arrested “which speaks volumes for the police performance”.