A mob lynched and burned to death a Sri Lankan national in Pakistan's Punjab province on Friday, accusing him of blasphemy.
The hardline Pakistan Tehreek-e-Labbaik has accused the Sri Lankan national of tossing a Quranic verse poster, that Priyantha Kumara tore up in the trash
According to a Punjab police official, Priyantha Kumara, who was in his forties, worked as a general manager for a factory in Sialkot, which is about 100 km from India’s border.
Kumara removed the poster from the wall next to his office when factory workers saw it being removed." TLP is an Islamist party with Quranic verses on its posters. The TLP poster was pasted on the wall next to Kumara's office.
In response to the "blasphemy" incident, dozens of angry men began gathering from surrounding areas. Many of them were members of the TLP and activists.
The mob dragged the suspect (a Sri Lankan) from the factory and severely injured him, the official said. The official said that after the mob burned his body before police could arrive, the victim succumbed to his wounds.
Several videos circulated on social media show the presence of hundreds of men surrounding the body of the Sri Lankan national. Men chanted TLP slogans as they surrounded the body.
The Imran Khan government lifted the party's ban on Saad Rizvi, the TLP's chief, and more than 1,500 activists accused of terrorism.
The TLP in turn ended its week-long sit-in in Punjab after withdrawing its demand for the ejection of the French ambassador following blasphemous cartoons in France.
Following the lynching of the Sri Lankan national, police officer Umar Saeed Malik announced at a press conference that a heavy police presence was deployed in the area.
The situation in the area is tense even though all factories are closed. No arrests have been made yet, according to the police.
Human rights activists report that Pakistan has extremely strict laws that punish the defamation of Islam, including the death penalty, which they say are often used to settle disputes between Muslim families.
According to a report by a government advisory panel, Pakistan has more blasphemy laws than any other country.
Blasphemy accusations have led to violence against Christian minorities.
Several lynchings have occurred in recent years due to blasphemy.
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