Girl school teacher beheaded by classmates

Strict expression of faith: A woman at an event organized by Pakistan’s ruling Tehreek-e-Insaf party in Islamabad. Image: AFP

Three teachers in Pakistan beheaded their colleague for allegedly insulting Islam. The women were arrested and confessed to the crime.

According to police, three teachers at an Islamic school for girls in Pakistan beheaded a classmate. They accused the 21-year-old of blasphemy, meaning mocking her religion. They killed her outside the educational center in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan without due process, local police chief Najamul Hasnain said. Police have already arrested the alleged perpetrators – they have confessed, said a police officer from the German Press Agency.

Those involved in the incident are said to come from the Waziristan region – the area borders Afghanistan and has recently been a focal point for several terrorist groups.

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws provide for death for insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad. Human rights activists criticize that the blasphemy charge is often used against religious minorities or used in campaigns of personal revenge.