KARACHI: Renowned religious scholar Maulana Tariq Jameel on Friday strongly condemned Sialkot incident where a Sri Lankan-national manager of a factory was tortured to death over blasphemy allegations before burning his body.
“The incident of burning a foreigner under the guise of Namoos-e-Risalat is unfortunate,” the religious scholar wrote on Twitter.
“It is against Islamic teachings to take the law into own hands on the basis of mere accusation. There is no room for violence and extremism in Islam. Scholars should play a positive role in preventing extremism,” Maulana Tariq Jameel added.
سیالکوٹ میں ناموسِ رسالت کی آڑ میں غیر ملکی کو زندہ جلا دینے کا واقعہ انتہائی افسوسناک ہے. محض الزام کی بنیاد پر قانون کو ہاتھ میں لینا اسلامی تعلیمات کے خلاف ہے. اسلام میں تشدد اورشدت پسندی کی کوئی جگہ نہیں. علماء کرام انتہا پسندی کو روکنے میں مثبت کردار ادا کریں.#Sialkot
— Tariq Jamil (@TariqJamilOFCL) December 3, 2021
The news that a Sri Lankan man was lynched at a factory in Sialkot has sent shockwaves through Pakistanis. The mob tortured the man, identified as Priyantha Kumara, to death over blasphemy allegations before burning his body.
As videos and pictures of the incident flooded social media, politicians, activists and netizens expressed shock over the gruesomeness of the murder and called the government’s attention to the rising extremism in the country.
In a strongly-worded tweet, Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the “horrific vigilante attack” on the Sri Lankan man, calling it “a day of shame for Pakistan”. “Let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law,” the premier wrote.
President Dr Arif Alvi appreciated the “prompt” action by the premier and the government. “The Sialkot incident is definitely very sad and shameful, and not religious in any way whatsoever. Islam is a religion that established cannons of deliberative justice rather than mob lynchings,” he said.
