Pakistan suspends policemen applauded by locals for killing a blasphemy suspect

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani authorities on Friday suspended policemen who had opened fire and killed a blasphemy suspect in the country’s south earlier this week, only to be applauded and showered with rose petals by local residents after the killing.

The death of Shah Nawaz — a doctor in Sindh province who went into hiding after being accused of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and sharing blasphemous content on social media — was the second such apparent extra-judicial killing by police in a week, drawing condemnation from human rights groups.

The local police chief, Niaz Khoso, said Nawaz was killed unintentionally when officers in the city of Mirpur Khas signaled for two men on a motorcycle to stop on Wednesday night Instead of stopping, the men opened fire and tried to flee, prompting police to shoot.

One of the suspects fled on the motorcycle, while the other, Nawaz, who had gone into hiding two days earlier, was killed.

Subsequently, videos on social media showed people throwing rose petals and handing a bouquet of flowers to the police officers said to have been involved in the shooting. In another video, purportedly filmed at their police station, officers wore garlands of flowers around their necks and posed for photographs.

Sindh Home Minister Zia Ul Hassan suspended the officers, including Deputy Inspector General Javaid Jiskani who appears in both videos, said the minister’s spokesperson Sohail Jokhio.

Also suspended was senior police officer Choudhary Asad who previously said the shooting incident had no connection to the blasphemy case and that police only realized who Nawaz was after his body was taken for a postmortem.

Nawaz’s family members allege they were later attacked by a mob that