'Day of shame': PM vows to punish culprits of Sialkot lynching

Premier reveals arrests were being made and he himself was overseeing investigations

Hours after a Sri Lankan national was tortured to death in Sialkot and his body set on fire after a hundreds-strong mob attacked him over blasphemy allegations, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday vowed to punish those responsible for the heinous act.

The Sri Lankan national was tortured to death in the Punjab Town earlier today. An angry mob of hundreds also set the body of foreign national on fire after lynching him over blasphemy allegations.

A police official, who arrived at the scene of the incident, told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity that the deceased was the operational manager at the factory for the past seven years.

Read more: Sri Lankan citizen lynched in Sialkot over alleged blasphemy

He said the Sri Lankan national was accused by the factory workers of "tearing down Durood Sharif". Rumours then started circulating across the factory area and a mob started gathering in the morning, he said, adding that police were informed about the incident much later at around 12:15pm.

"The horrific vigilante attack on factory in Sialkot & the burning alive of Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan," the premier wrote on his official Twitter handle.

The horrific vigilante attack on factory in Sialkot & the burning alive of Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan. I am overseeing the investigations & let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 3, 2021

The premier revealed that arrests were being made and he himself was overseeing the investigation.

Read more: Mob vandalises Hindu temple after boy granted bail

This lynching of the foreign national over the alleged blasphemy comes days after a mob in Charsadda, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, ransacked a police station and burned it down over similar allegations.

The K-P police had reportedly refused to hand over a man detained over alleged blasphemy to the mob.