In a bone-chilling display of brutality, a mob in Pakistan lynched and then burnt a Sri Lankan man after accusing him of blasphemy.
The incident took place near Sialkot where the Sri Lankan national, Priyantha Kumara, an export manager in a local factory, was attacked by workers of private factories for allegedly tearing down the posters of radical outfit Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, which bore the name of Prophet Muhammad.
Kumara, a Sri Lankan Christian, had been working at Rajco Industries for 10 years.
Reacting to the "horrific vigilante attack", Prime Minister Imran Khan said it was a day of shame for Pakistan. "I am overseeing the investigations & let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress," he tweeted.
The culprits behind the lynching will be prosecuted with full severity of the law, Prime Minister Imran Khan told Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday.
The prime minister, in a tweet, said he conveyed the nation's anger and shame to the people of Sri Lanka at the killing of Priyantha Kumar.
"I informed him 100+ people [have been] arrested and assured him they would be prosecuted with the full severity of the law," the prime minister added.
President Rajapaksa, while expressing concern over the matter in a statement on Twitter, hoped that the Pakistani government would ensure the safety of Sri Lankan workers in the future.
"Sri Lanka trusts that PM Imran Khan and the Government of Pakistan will ensure justice is served," the president tweeted.
Sri Lanka's Parliament on Saturday condemned the lynching of the Sri Lankan national in Pakistan and urged the authorities there to ensure the safety of the rest of the Sri Lankan expat workers in the country.
"We are glad that the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had very strongly condemned this brutal act," education minister Dinesh Gunawardena told Parliament.
Wife pleads for justice
Priyantha's wife has pleaded for justice for her slain husband from both Pakistani and Sri Lankan leaders, Sri Lankan news outlet Newswire reported.
"I got to know about the brutal murder of my husband from the news. Later I saw this on the internet as well. He was a very innocent man," she said, talking to reporters from BBC Sinhala.
"I request leaders of Sri Lanka and Pakistan to do justice for my husband and two children, by bringing the perpetrators to justice," she went on to say.
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