'Personal vendetta led to brutal killing of Sri Lankan national in Sialkot'

Priyantha Diyawadana was a thorough professional known for his stern production standards, says SCCI president

While strongly condemning the barbaric act of violence at a factory in Sialkot, leading to the brutal killing of Sri Lankan national Priyantha Diyawadana, Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) President Mian Imran Akbar said that "personal vendetta" on part of some labourers in the garb of alleged religious tilt led to the heinous incident.

"Studying the details of the case, it was found that Priyantha was a thorough professional known for his stern production standards," he said in a statement.

Akbar stressed that each faction should abide by laws and ethics to protect the very social fabric of the country, urging the government to crack down on all perpetrators and inciters and bring them to a befitting justice.

Read more: PM assures Sri Lankan president of justice in Sialkot lynching

He said that an urgent meeting of the business leaders of Sialkot was also convened at the SCCI wherein chairpersons of all trade associations of the city participated and condemned the horrible act. "The business community resolved to formulate policies to avoid any such incidents in future," he added.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), while expressing grief and sorrow over the senseless killing of the Sri Lankan national, said that it was unfortunate that the incident was being attributed to his party.

He said that TLP stood with the oppressed and was against every oppressor and the usage of blasphemy allegations for personal purposes was highly condemnable.

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

"The slogan Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (PBUH) belonged to every Muslim but attributing such incident to TLP was unfair," he added.

The spokesperson said that the constitution of Pakistan guarantees religious freedom to all minorities whether they were Hindus or Christians.

He urged the authorities to bring those involved in the heinous act to justice, saying that the incident should be transparently investigated keeping in view all the aspects.

Lynched over 'blasphemy'

The nation was shell-shocked and disgusted on Friday when a Sri Lankan national was brutally lynched and his body was set on fire by a mob in Sialkot. The sickening incident outraged the nation as the civil and military leaders denounced it as “horrific” “shameful” and “extra-judicial vigilantism”.

The gut-wrenching incident took place on Sialkot’s Wazirabad Road, where workers of private factories brutally lynched the Sri Lankan national.

Several gruesome video clips shared on social media showed a mob beating the victim while chanting slogans against blasphemy. Other clips showed his body set ablaze, as well as the overturned wreckage of what was said to be his car.

Many in the mob made no attempt to hide their identity and some took selfies in front of the burning corpse. The police claimed that the grisly incident took place inside the factory premises and there was no way of knowing about it before that time.