ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has recommended further improvement in the judicial system and rule of law to pre-empt tragedies such as the lynching of the Sri Lankan national in Sialkot.
In a special meeting today, the Council discussed the murder of Priyantha Kumara in what it called a brainstorming session. The Sri Lankan national was lynched, beaten, and murdered by a mob over alleged blasphemy in the first week of Dec 2021.
The council noted that taking the law in one’s own hand was not just against the constitution but also the Holy Quran, Sunnah, and Shariah. The stated should immediately take action against anyone who takes the law in their hands, it recommended.
CII members noted that there was a need to improve the judicial system of the country. “It is primarily the state’s responsibility to protect its citizens from the incidence of violence. We need legislation to prevent such incidents,” the council’s chairman, Qibla Ayaz said.
In a media briefing, he said that the meeting was called to understand the root cause of such acts of violence.
SAPM on Religious Harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi pointed out that it will take time to rid Pakistan of this “disease”.
All the members of the CII demanded that the perpetrators in the case should be severely punished according to the law and decided to consult with experts to eradicate extremism from the country.
They also observed that the spread of anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan content on social media was one of the causes of such incidents. They suggested the government take steps to table the Paigham-i-Pakistan declaration in parliament for approval.
The declaration, which was tabled in 2017 after a consensus from ulema from all schools of thought, termed terrorism, suicide attacks, and killing someone haram in Islam.
