Lahore : A TOP Shri Lankan executive of garment factory was killed by by supporters of a hardline Islamist party in Pakistan over ‘Blasphemy,’ said police. The incident took place on Friday, the man was lynched and his body burnt by them police official further added.
Priyantha Kumara, who was in his 40s, was working as general manager of the garment factory in Sialkot district, some 100 km from Lahore, a police official told PTI.
“Mr Kumara allegedly tore a poster of the hardline Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in which Quranic verses were inscribed and threw it in the dustbin. The poster of the Islamist party was pasted on the wall adjoining the office of Kumara. A couple of factory workers saw him removing the poster and spread the word in the factory,” the official said.
Hundreds of men, enraged over the “blasphemy” incident, started gathering outside the factory from adjoining areas. Most of them were activists and supporters of the TLP. They then severely tortured him and burnt his body.
“The mob dragged the suspect (the Sri Lankan national) from the factory and severely tortured him. After he succumbed to his wounds, the mob burnt his body before police reached there,” the official said.
Condemning the killing Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he will personally supervise the probe and the culprits will be punished. “The horrific vigilante attack on a factory in Sialkot and the burning alive of Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan,” he said in a message on Twitter.
Underlining the shock caused across the political establishment, Pakistan’s powerful military also issued a statement condemning the “cold blooded murder”.
“Such extra judicial vigilantism cannot be condoned at any cost,” the military’s press wing said, adding that the chief of the army staff had ordered full support to the civil administration to bring those responsible to justice.
Shri Lankan Government on the incident stated that their Embassy in Islamabad is verifying the details of the incident.
The Imran Khan government had recently lifted a ban on the TLP after signing a secret agreement with it following which its chief Saad Rizvi and over 1,500 activists accused of terrorism were released from jail.
The TLP in return had ended its week-long sit-in in Punjab after withdrawing its demand of expelling the French ambassador on the issue of blasphemous cartoons in France.
Sialkot District Police Officer Umar Saeed Malik told reporters that a heavy contingent of police has been deployed in the area to control the situation after the lynching.
Punjab province Chief Minister Usman Buzdar termed the lynching as a very tragic incident and ordered the Inspector General of Police to investigate the matter and report to him within 24 hours.
“Every aspect of the incident should be investigated and a report should be submitted. Action should be taken against those who take the law into their own hands,” the Chief Minister said in a statement.
The situation in the area is tense and all factories are shut, the police added.
Punjab province government spokesperson Hassan Khawar said that “approximately 50 people have been arrested,” Geo News reported.
“CCTV footage is being obtained so that those who were responsible can be identified. The IG has directed law enforcement personnel to produce results in 48 hours after which the probe will be extended,” the spokesperson said.
Special Representative to the Prime Minister on Religious Harmony, Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, said the killing of the factory manager is “regrettable” and “condemnable”.
Ashrafi said that the country has laws that deal with blasphemy and by taking the law into their hands, “the attackers have insulted our laws as well”.
“Those who killed the Sri Lankan manager in Sialkot have committed an un-Islamic, inhumane act,” Ashrafi said, adding that he is “ashamed” over the act.
Condemning the incident, global human rights watchdog Amnesty International demanded an impartial investigation.
Pakistan has extremely strict laws against defaming Islam, including the death penalty, but rights campaigners say they are often used to settle personal disputes in the Muslim-majority country.
Mere allegations of blasphemy have triggered violence against minorities like Christians. Several persons accused of committing blasphemy have been lynched in recent years.
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