Pakistani mob murders woman and two young children for "blasphemy"

A vicious mob in Pakistan murdered a woman and her two young daughters over "blasphemous" content that had been posted to Facebook by an Ahmadi youth.

Dawn reports that the woman was a 55-year-old named Bashiran, a seven-year-old named Hira, and a teenager named Kainat.

The rampaging mob also burnt five houses, a warehouse, and several cars because of the Facebook post.

The violence began when the son of a local imam and his friends discovered the post. They then went to the home of an Ahmadi family whose member had made the post. When they tried to enter the home, they were fired upon, injuring the imam's son and his friend. As news of the gunshots and blasphemy spread through the town of Gujranwala, a mob began to assemble outside the home of the Ahmadi victims.

The three victims did not actually post the blasphemous material in question. The authorities say they died of smoke inhalation, presumably as their house was burned by the mob. A woman also miscarried as a result of the stress of the riots.

A spokesperson for the Ahmadi community claimed that it was the worst attack on the sect since four years ago. At that time, 86 Ahmadis were killed in religiously motivated rioting.

The spokesperson also accused the police of standing idly by as the rioters looted the homes of Ahmadis and then burned them to the ground.

Other Ahmadi families in the area were forced to flee from their homes. The local power company also decided to cut the city's power in the hopes of preventing further violence.

Dawn says the violence occurred as 150 people were angrily demanding the Facebook user be charged with blasphemy. As the police tried to calm the crowd of 150, another group then started the violence.

The Guardian reports that being Ahmadi was made a crime in 1984. Ahmadis believe they are Muslim but do not believe that Mohammad is the ultimate prophet. For this reason, they are often accused of blasphemy.