A factory in Sri Lanka Manager in Pakistan was beaten to death on Friday and set on fire by a mob, police confirmed, in an incident reported by local media, that it was linked to alleged blasphemy.
Few issues in Pakistan are as startling as blasphemy, and even the slightest hint of insulting Islam can lead to protests and lynchings.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said he would personally oversee an investigation into the “appalling vigilante attack” which he described as “a day of shame for Pakistan”.
“Don’t be fooled, all those responsible will be punished with the full severity of the law,” he tweeted.
The horrific vigilante attack on the Sialkot factory and the burning of a Sri Lankan manager alive are a day of shame for Pakistan. I oversee the investigation and allow all those responsible to be punished with the full severity of the law. Arrests are underway
– Imran Khan (mImranKhanPTI) December 3, 2021
The incident on Friday occurred in Sialkot, about 200 kilometers southeast of the capital Islamabad.
Several gruesome video clips shared on social media showed a mob beating the vulnerable victim while chanting anti-blasphemy slogans.
Other clips showed his body being set on fire as well as the overturned wreckage of his car. Many in the mob didn’t try to hide their identities, and some took selfies in front of the burning corpse.
50 ARRIVED
Punjab government spokesman Hasaan Khawar told reporters in Lahore that police had already arrested 50 people.
“The CCTV footage is being carefully examined as we have been instructed to complete the investigation within 48 hours,” he said.
TEHREEK-E-LABBAIK PAKISTAN
The slogans chanted in the social media videos were used by supporters of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) – an anti-blasphemy party.
The TLP has paralyzed the country with protests in the past, including an anti-France campaign after the Parisian satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo republished cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad last year.
It was only last month that the lockdown was lifted and its leader was released after another period of unrest in which seven police officers were killed.
In just five years, the party has seen its reach explode in Pakistan, opening a new chapter in the country’s deadly confrontation with extremism.
“BLASPHEMY” IN PAKISTAN
On Sunday, thousands of people set fire to a police station in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after officials requested the handover of a man accused of burning the Koran.
In April 2017, an angry mob lynched college student Mashal Khan when he was accused of posting blasphemous content online.
A Christian couple were lynched in Punjab in 2014 and then burned in an oven after being falsely accused of desecrating the Quran.
A senior Pakistani official told AFP that Islamabad had contacted Sri Lankan diplomats about the incident and assured them that everyone involved in the heinous crime would be brought to justice.
Human rights groups say allegations of blasphemy can often be used to settle personal acts of revenge, with minorities as the primary target.
“Today’s event underscores the urgency of correcting an environment that enables abuse and endangers human life,” said Amnesty International South Asia in a tweet under the Pakistani hashtag “Sialkot”.
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