ISLAMABAD A mob of youngsters beat a Muslim man to death in Pakistan on Saturday after the victim was accused of blasphemy, police said.

Hundreds of youths stormed a police station where the man was being held for his protection in the Nankana Sahib district of Punjab province, about 80km from the eastern city of Lahore.

They wounded officers and vandalised the facility before beating the man to death, police said.

On Saturday, Mohammad Waris, a man in his early 20s, was taken into police custody after a mob attacked him for allegedly desecrating the Quran, the Muslim holy book, police spokesman Mohammad Waqas told Reuters.

“Police could not resist them because a handful of officials were present in the police station,” he said, adding that police reinforcements were able to stop the mob from setting the body alight, and were readying action against the crowd.

“The mob stormed the police station and beat the man to death,” local police spokesman Waqas Khalid told AFP.

“After killing him they tried to set his body ablaze,” he added.

Khalid said authorities were working on identifying the attackers responsible for the man’s death.

Videos shared on social media showed hundreds of youngsters besieging the police compound, with one man scaling a tall gate using a ladder and opening its lock.

The crowd then barged inside and smashed windows.

Rights groups say accusations of blasphemy are often wielded in Pakistan to settle personal vendettas.

In December 2021 a Sri Lankan factory manager working in the country was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob over blasphemy accusations.

Six years ago a mob lynched university student Mashal Khan after he was accused of posting blasphemous content online.