Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan assured the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa that justice will be served and those involved in the brutal killing of Sri Lankan man in Sialkot will be prosecuted “with full severity of the law”.
Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana, who worked at a factory in Pakistan’s city of Sialkot, was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob on Friday. PM Khan described the incident as a “day of shame” for Pakistan.
Khan later talked to the president of Sri Lanka to share the details on the investigation and informed him that 100+ people have been arrested.
The 49-year-old victim was survived by his wife and two children below 10 years of age.
Sri Lanka expects Pakistan for justice
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he was deeply saddened by the brutal assassination of a citizen in Pakistan on blasphemy allegation, but praised the administration in Islamabad for taking steps to ensure justice.
The Sri Lankan foreign minister said it was in contact with Pakistani authorities and expected Islamabad to take ‘required action’ to investigate the matter and ensure justice.
“Sri Lanka expects that the Pakistan authorities will take the required action to investigate and ensure justice. We are awaiting results of further investigations and working with all parties concerned to bring the remains home” the Sri Lankan fioregn ministry said.
More than 100 arrested
Police have registered a first information report (FIR) against 900 workers of a garment factory in Sialkot for killing their general manager and burning his body over blasphemy allegation. Sialkot police arrested 235 people, including those who tortured Priyantha Kumara and recorded videos.
Punjab police claimed that they arrested six more of the main alleged culprits. The suspects were traced using CCTV footage and mobile phone data. The police added that out of the 124 people arrested, 19 played a “key role” in the brutal killing.
District Police Officer (DPO) Omar Saeed Malik said that raids were still being carried out to arrest more suspects.
Meanwhile, 13 of the main suspects were produced in a criminal court and subsequently remanded in police custody for one day. The suspects were identified as Farhan Idrees, Saboor Butt, Talha, Abdul Rehman, Imran, Taimur, Shoaib, Raheel, Usman, Shahzaib, Nasir, Ehtisham and Junaid.
The gruesome video footage of the incident in Sialkot showed hundreds of people gathered outside the factory where the perpetrators had reportedly burnt the body of the victim after beating him to death. One of the videos also showed a man trying to appease the mob and reason with it.