MM News

ISLAMABAD: Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Vice Admiral Mohan Wijewickrama said the Anti Terrorism Court had given a landmark decision in Sri Lankan citizen Priyantha Kumara’s lynching case.

A court has sentenced six people to death after convicting them for their roles in the case that outraged many Pakistanis. Nine people were sentenced to life imprisonment and 72 others were sentenced to two-year rigorous imprisonment while one was acquitted.

Priyantha Kumara was working as a general manager at factory in Sialkot. On December 3, 2021, he had been murdered by a mob on the allegations of blasphemy and his body was set on fire.

Addressing a press conference along with former Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony and Middle East and Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi in the embassy, he said, “Justice prevails in Pakistan.”

He said during the entire process of trial and tribulation, the most inspiring thing was that the whole Pakistani nation was on one page and condemning the Sialkot’s sad incident in the strongest terms. He thanked the government and judiciary for taking the case to a logical conclusion in a short span of time.

He said the government of Sri Lanka was quite satisfied with the court decision and it had further cemented the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Tahir Ashrafi said Pakistan was against the culture of intolerance, extremism and terrorism and it would not help promote these inhuman acts at all costs in the country. Expressing gratitude’s to the government, judiciary and security institutions, he said Pakistan had fulfilled its promise which it made with the government of Sri Lanka and people with dignity and honor.

Reacting on the court decision in Sri Lankan citizen Priyantha Kumara’s lynching case, Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz said submission of challan by the Sialkot police and court’s decision in one month and four days was a positive gesture.

He said the CII had always emphasized that the delivery of justice should not be delayed. He said investigation of this particular case and identification of real culprits was a difficult task but the diligence with which Sialkot police had completed both the legal proceedings was commendable.

He expressed hope that the police department would continue to carry out its duties with the same spirit. He maintained that other courts would also play their role in ensuring speedy delivery of justice.