Woman clad in Arabic print shirt saved from angry mob in Pakistan

Hundreds confronted her outside a restaurant in Lahore, accusing her of blasphemy after they mistook the Arabic alphabets for verses from the Quran

The dress has the word ‘Halwa’ printed in Arabic letters on it, meaning beautiful in Arabic. Photo: BBC

A Pakistani woman has issued a public apology after being accused of blasphemy by an angry mob for wearing a dress adorned with Arabic calligraphy.

On Sunday, the woman was cornered outside a restaurant in Lahore by a crowd of hundreds, who mistook the Arabic alphabets for verses from the Quran.

Police subsequently intervened and escorted the woman to safety, the BBC reports.

Later, police clarified that her dress did not bear verses from the Quran, but rather had the word 'halwa' printed on it, which means 'beautiful' in Arabic.

A video clip of the incident shows ASP Shehrbano Naqvi escorting the woman covered in a burka while an angry crowd tries to take her clothes off.

Several other clips of the incident, which has now gone viral on social media, show a baying crowd chanting, "Those who blaspheme must be beheaded."

The unnamed woman was later seen making an apology video, stating that she did not intend to hurt anyone's religious sentiments.

"I didn't have any such intention; it happened by mistake. I apologise for all that happened, and I'll make sure it never happens again," she said in the video.

Former adviser to the prime minister on religious affairs, Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, took to X to denounce the incident, calling for the men in the crowd to apologise to the woman for their behaviour.

Blasphemy is a capital offence in Pakistan and was codified during British colonial rule.