LAHORE: An enraged Muslim mob beat a Christian couple to death in Pakistan and burned their bodies in the brick kiln where they worked on Tuesday for allegedly desecrating a copy of the Qur’an, police said.

The incident took place at the town of Kot Radha Kishan, some 60 km southwest of the city of Lahore, and is the latest example of mob violence against minorities accused of blasphemy.

“A mob attacked a Christian couple after accusing them of desecration of the holy Qur’an and later burned their bodies at a brick kiln where they worked,” local police station official Bin-Yameen said.

“Yesterday an incident of desecration of the holy Qur’an took place in the area and today the mob first beat the couple and later set their bodies on fire at a brick kiln,” he added.

Another police official confirmed the incident. The victims were only identified by their first names, Shama and Shehzad, and were a married couple.

Pakistan’s brick kiln workers are often subject to harsh practices, with a study by the Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan estimating that 4.5 million are indentured laborers.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has constituted a three-member committee to fast track the investigation of the killings and ordered police to beef up security at Christian neighborhoods in the province, an official from his media office said. Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in the majority Muslim country, with even unproven allegations often prompting mob violence.

Anyone convicted, or even just accused, of insulting Islam, risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes. A Christian woman has been on death row since November 2010 after she was found guilty of making blasphemous remarks during an argument with a Muslim woman. An elderly British man with severe mental illness, sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan in January, was shot by a prison guard last month.

Four killed in bomb blasts

In Peshawar, two bombings killed four people on Tuesday in a restive northwestern Pakistani tribal area where the army is fighting militants, officials said.

The bombs went off at Painda Cheena village in the lawless Khyber tribal district, where the army is mounting an operation against the Taleban and other insurgent groups.

In the first bombing two paramilitary soldiers and a civilian were killed, while the second blast, at the same place, killed another civilian during rescue work.

“Two paramilitary soldiers and a peace committee member were killed after a bomb planted on a roadside exploded,” a security official said.

“After some time a second bomb exploded when people were busy in rescue work. The second blast killed a local tribesman and wounded two paramilitary soldiers.” Local government official Tayyab Ali confirmed the casualties. No group immediately claimed responsibility.