A group of angry people in Pakistan got mad at a woman for wearing a dress with Arabic writing thinking it was from the Quran.
The police rescued her and escorted her to safety due to the large crowd that had gathered.She later expressed her regret in the presence of others.
The dress has the word “sweet” written in Arabic on it.
Speaking or doing something that disrespects a religion is a serious crime in Pakistan and can result in a death penalty. Some people have been attacked and killed before they have a chance to go to court.
The police told the media that they got a call at about 1:10PM on Sunday that a lot of people were gathered around a woman at a restaurant in Lahore, which is in the Pakistani province of Punjab.
Assistant Superintendent Syeda Shehrbano said that about 300 people were waiting outside the restaurant when they arrived.
Videos of the incident were shared on social media. One video showed a frightened woman sitting in the back of the restaurant, covering her face with her hand.
In a different place, she was with police officers who were protecting her from a crowd that wanted her to take off her shirt. In some videos, you can hear people saying that those who insult their religion should be killed by cutting off their heads.
A video on social media shows Ms Shehrbano standing at the entrance of the restaurant, trying to calm down a rowdy crowd.
She said no one really understood what was written on the shirt. The important thing was to make sure the woman was safe by getting her out of the area.
Ms Shehrbano says that she had to “talk and discuss” with the crowd.
“We said we would bring the woman with us. We will consider her actions and hold her responsible for any crime she committed according to the law. “
Later, the video showed Ms Shehrbano putting her arm around the woman, who was wearing a black robe and headscarf, and moving through the crowd. Other police officers joined hands to make a pathway as people in the crowd pushed forward.
Ms Shehrbano said that people who support the TLP party were also in the crowd.
The woman was taken to a police station, where a few religious scholars said that the writing on her dress was Arabic calligraphy, and not verses from the Quran.
The police asked the experts to make a video that said what they found and that the woman didn’t do anything wrong.
“I didn’t mean to do it, it was an accident. “”I’m sorry for what happened, and I promise it won’t happen again,” she said. She also said she is a very religious Muslim and would never disrespect her religion.
Officials said she went to Lahore to shop and has already left the city.
Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, who used to give advice to the prime minister about religious matters, said on Twitter that the men in the crowd should have apologized instead of the woman.
Ms Shehrbano said that the authorities have noticed a growing number of similar incidents like the one on Sunday.
“If I didn’t yell and persuade the crowd to help,things would have gotten worse. I’m grateful,” she said. Many people have said good things about her, and the Chief of Punjab police wants her to get an award for being brave.
India’s British rulers created laws against blasphemy, and these laws were made even stricter in the 1980s by the military government.
Last August,many churches and houses were set on fire in Jaranwala, a city in eastern Pakistan. This happened because two men from the city were accused of ruining the Quran.