Perhaps, Lady Luck was in a gracious mood in Kohistan or the rules of vigilante justice depend on the colour of your passport. But lynching or no lynching, a blood-thirsty mob surrounding a Chinese national over blasphemy accusations is all the evidence we need to put an end to this hate-mongering business of disinformation many refer to as religious transmissions. The said victim is under the protection of law enforcement agencies and the law of the land will take its course in this case. However, there is no shortage of victims when it comes to the weaponisation of these allegations, which stem out of personal vendettas. It only took a week for the fiery banter on national television that sought to make an example out of not just blasphemers but their family members to culminate in this latest instalment of a religiously-motivated violence spree. No matter what the self-anointed televangelist may like to believe, there’s nothing brave about selling these extremist notions on television. Rather, it is one of the most profitable businesses. The real challenge lies in calling a spade a spade and standing behind those who have actually been aggrieved. The dark pages of our history are replete with examples of how angry, unruly mobs have taken upon themselves to unleash the wrath of the law in a nano-second. Victims, their lawyers, judges, ministers and a sitting governor have all bled at the altar while millions very conveniently looked the other way. Even if some miracle saves them from being slaughtered, what is the guarantee of receiving a fair trial? The orgy of violence manages to find one excuse or another to orchestrate a bloodied saga. Vigilante killings are known to turn blind to the decrees of the courtrooms. For them, no notions of civility can supersede the desires of fanaticism. A tragedy has been averted for now, but unless the state steps beyond its traditional lip service and do something about this sorry excuse of incitement to violence, things would continue to look just as bleak. Maybe, a few shades darker. *