Supporters hail ‘Ghazi’ Muhammad Khalid: US wants action over Tahir Naseem’s killing

Muhammad Khalid Khan, the gunman who shot dead Ahmadiya man Tahir Naseem in a Peshawar court, has earned the title of Ghazi and is being hailed as a hero on Pakistani social media.

While most of the users have glorified Muhammad Khalid Khan’s act, others have expressed concern over the incident saying it will have consiquences for the country.

The United States urged Pakistan on Thursday to take action over the killing of an American national Tahir Naseem in a crowded courtroom as he faced trial for blasphemy.

Tahir Ahmed Naseem was shot multiple times at close range as he appeared in Peshawar on Wednesday.

“We urge Pakistan to take immediate action and pursue reforms that will prevent such a shameful tragedy from happening again,” the U.S. State Department said in a tweet.

As Naseem’s arraignment began before the judge, a young man in the room pulled out a handgun and shot him in the head, officials and witnesses said. The young man was arrested on the spot.

On Thursday, supporters of a hardline Islamist group held a protest rally in Peshawar calling for the release of the suspected shooter, saying he had defended his religion.

The aftermath of the killing, captured on video and shared on social media, showed Naseem slumped over in a chair beside the judge’s bench, as other shackled prisoners, some with bloodied clothes, were taken from the room.

“The young man who shot him had no remorse, and said he saw the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a dream the night before,” Latif Afridi, who heads the Peshawar High Court Bar Association, told Reuters.