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Updated December 6th, 2021 at 09:48 IST

Pakistan PM attempts face-saver amid Defence Min's justification of Sialkot mob lynching

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a medal of bravery to be conferred on the person who tried to save the Sri Lankan expat who was killed in Sialkot.

Reported by: Srishti Jha
Pakistan
AP/Republic World | Image:self
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In the aftermath of the brutal mob lynching that claimed the life of a Sri Lankan factory manager in Sialkot, on Sunday Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, in an attempt to restore humanity within the territory, announced a medal of bravery that will be conferred on the person who tried to save the deceased expatriate. Risking his own life, Malik Adnan took the bull by the horns.

Reports claim that the CCTV footage installed in the locality showed a man, later identified as production manager Adnan, confronting the enraged extremists on his own in a desperate attempt to avert the flare-up. The visuals showed Adnan constantly trying to shield Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana from the mob outside a Sialkot factory.

Pakistan PM to honour man who attempted to save Sri Lankan expat in Sialkot lynching

The mob was seen overpowering Adnan's endeavour, dragging the Sri Lankan out onto the streets while hurling bricks, iron rods and stones at him, killing him on the spot. Later, the mob set the body on fire over allegations of blasphemy. Priyantha Kumara, a middle-aged man, was working as the general manager of a factory in the Sialkot district, nearly 100 km from the site of the incident, Wazirabad Road.

"Kumara allegedly removed and tore a poster of the hardline Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in which Quranic verses were inscribed and threw it in the dustbin. A couple of factory workers saw him and spread the word," a Pakistani national told the media.

Imran Khan heaps praise on locals after Sialkot lynching & murder

The brutal killing was quick to draw criticism globally while local critics viewed it as another episode of oppression against minorities in Pakistan. Condemning the killing, the Civil society members held a protest in Karachi on Saturday against the lynching. Protesters also demanded that the government stop dialogue with the radical Islamist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party. A human rights activist told AP that the blasphemy law had made it easy to kill people in the name of religion.

Taking to Twitter, PM Imran Khan shared, "On behalf of the nation I want to salute moral courage & bravery of Malik Adnan who tried his utmost to shelter & save Priyantha Diyawadana from the vigilante mob in Sialkot incl endangering his own life by physically trying to shield victim. We will award him Tamgha i Shujaat"

Previously, the Pakistan Prime Minister mentioned that he had a word with the President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to convey the nation's 'anger and shame' on the brutal act. 

"I spoke to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today in the UAE to express the nation's grief and remorse over the heinous murder of Priyantha Diwadna in Sialkot," PM Imran Khan had tweeted.

 

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Published December 6th, 2021 at 09:48 IST

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