Last month, in Lahore, the provincial capital of Pakistan's Punjab, an angry mob accused a woman of blasphemy, as she wore a dress adorned with Arabic calligraphy. The mob mistook the calligraphy as verses from the Quran.
The woman was saved by the police who escorted her to safety after hundreds gathered and practically corned her in a restaurant. However, the dress had the word Halwa (meaning sweet confectionary) printed in Arabic on it.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Syeda Shehrbano Naqvi stated that around 300 people had crowded outside the restaurant by the time they arrived. “Nobody actually knew what was written on the shirt,” she said. “The major feat was to try to get that woman out of the area in order to ensure that she is safe.”
The violent mob demanded her to remove the dress. Videos on social media showed the scared woman pushed into a corner of the restaurant, hiding her face with her hand. A man can be heard in the video asking her to remove the garment or saying it would be forcefully done. It was a local garment trader, who was able to identify the word Halwa and called the police to come to her rescue.