National Council for Interfaith Peace & Harmony (NCIPH) has condemned in the harshest terms torturing and killing of a foreign national in Sialkot and set his body on fireover what local police described as an ‘accusation of blasphemy.’
In a joint statement on Friday, Mufti Ashiq Hussain, Maulana Shakeel-ur-Rehman Nasir, Javaid William, Prof Dr Masood Ahmad,Prof Kalyan Sing Kalyan, Hafiz Samiullah, Reverend Amjad Niamatand other National Council leaders said that it was a barbaric act and they were extremely shocked at the horrific incident.
Leadersof different religions asked the federal and provincial governments to investigate the Sialkot incident and take stern action against those who attacked and killed the Sri Lankan national. They also urged leaders of different religions to include message of peace and social harmony, acceptance and coexistence in prayer sessions.
The NCIPH leaders said that all religions should cooperate with each other to create peace, and to promote values of coexistence in the society. They asked citizens to restore compassion, respect and tolerance and to teach each other that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence or hatred is illegitimate.
They said that the country had laws to deal with all sensitive issues. They said that those responsible for the incident had not served the country or religion and had gone against the Islamic teachings. They said that the elements involved in the incident have tried to damage Islamic laws and teachings.They asked the authorities to punish the culprits for the barbarism.
The incident took place on Wazirabad Road in Sialkot, where the workers of private factories attacked the export manager of a factory and burnt his body after killing him.Videos circulating on social media showed a mob dragging the heavily-bruised body out to the street where they burned it in the presence of a crowd.Mob attacks on people accused of blasphemy are common, although such attacks on foreigners are rare.
