A Quetta police officer allegedly killed a man being held in custody on suspicion of blasphemy charges, police officials said on Thursday.

Quetta Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muhammad Baloch said that the police officer accused of the killing had been arrested.

The officer had accessed a police station where a man accused of blasphemy was being held by pretending he was his relative before opening fire on him.

The man accused of blasphemy had been taken into custody earlier in the week and moved to a more heavily fortified station due to an enraged mob demanding that he be handed over to them.

At the time, protesters belonging to the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and other religious parties had blocked traffic on the western bypass by placing burning tyres on the road and staged rallies in several parts of the provincial capital.

They later hurled a hand grenade at the Kharotabad police station, which exploded outside the police station.

No human loss was reported in the attack.

“We have registered an FIR (first information report) against the blasphemy suspect and arrested him soon after receiving information about the incident,” a senior police officer said.

According to the complaint, a resident of Kharotabad used objectionable words against the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). His alleged phone conversation was viral on social media, triggering sharp criticism and protests.

The police informed the protesters that an FIR was registered against him under Sections 295C and 34 of the penal code and investigation was underway.

Officials of the district administration and senior police officers after negotiations with the TLP leaders later managed to disperse the crowd and the western bypass was reopened.

The TLP later rallied in other parts of Quetta and marched on different roads carrying placards and banners inscribed with their demands.

JUI-P senator expresses solidarity with police official

Meanwhile, JUI-P Senator Abdul Shakoor Khan, in a Senate meeting today, expressed solidarity with the police official, saying that he would bear all his legal expenses.

“The police officer shot him because he expressed distrust in the legal system,” the senator said. “It is wrong in terms of Shariat and the law.”

“I don’t blame the police official, I blame the legal system,” he went on to say, adding that “we will not toletate anyone issuing blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).”

Those accused, who should be hanged within 10 hours, undergo trials for months, Senator Khan said.

In May, police rescued a Christian man from enraged mobsters who wanted to lynch him, and attacked the homes of some other members of the minority community in Sargodha on allegations of desecration of the Holy Quran.

Following the incident, 26 people were arrested, and over 400 booked for mob violence. The case was registered on behalf of the state under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 and sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

However, the police also registered a blasphemy case against the Christian man, a resident of Mujahid Colony. He succumbed to his injuries after fighting for his life at a hospital for eight days.

In June, a mob brutally lynched a man — who had been detained for the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran — inside the Madyan police station in Swat.

The mob then set fire to the suspect’s body, the police station, and a police vehicle.

Swat District Police Officer Dr Zahidullah had said that eight people were also injured in the incident.