ISLAMABAD: Ulema across Pakistan have decided to observe “Day of Condemnation” on Friday (December 10), against the brutal killing of Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara in Sialkot.
Addressing a press conference today, Qari Hafeez Jalandhari, general secretary of the Wafaq-ul-Madaris, requested all religious scholars to reiterate the teaching of Islam during the Friday sermon at mosques and imam bargahs across the country.
“We want ulema to remind people that Islam is the religion of peace and love. We want them to remind people of the rights of minorities,” he said.
The Sri Lankan national was tortured and beaten to death by a mob of over 800 people on Friday over alleged blasphemy accusations. After the brutal murder, his body was dragged to a road and burnt.
Religious scholars of all sects have condemned the Sialkot lynching. They called it “inhumane, cruel and un-Islamic”. They demanded that the government should immediately compensate the grieving family and take the strictest possible legal action against the miscreants.
They stressed that there’s no place for extremism and violence in Islam, and scholars should play their due role in uprooting the menace.
The ulema expressed their condolences to the Sri Lanka High Commission in Pakistan and hoped that the incident won’t affect the relationship between the countries.
On Monday, the remains of Priyantha Kumara reached Columbo after they were repatriated from Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport.
Earlier, Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Pakistan Vice Admiral Mohan Wijewickrama said that he was satisfied with Pakistan’s response to the killing. “The incident won’t affect friendly ties between the two countries.”
The Sri Lankan envoy, in a conversation with reporters, condemned the incident, pointing out that such incidents won’t be tolerated. “We are very sure that the incident itself was not targeting our country, our religion, or our race. It was an incident in isolation.” Wijewickrama added that a large number of suspects had already been arrested and legal action against them was imminent.
