Cabinet recommends strict action against Sialkot lynching culprits: Fawad

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said on Tuesday that the federal cabinet has recommended strict action against the culprits involved in the gruesome murder of Priyantha Diyawadana in Sialkot, Aaj News reported.

In a post-cabinet meeting press conference in Islamabad, Fawad said that cabinet members received a briefing on the Sialkot incident in which the Sri Lankan manager of a factory located at Sialkot’s Wazirabad Road was brutally tortured and murdered by the workers, before being burnt to ashes on Friday.

"The state is responsible to provide protection to every citizen belonging to minority communities [...] and we adhere to this principle," the information minister said.

"The cabinet members have strongly condemned the Sialkot incident, stressing that such incidents bring a bad name to the country," the minister said, adding that the members called for starting their trial at the earliest and punishing them in line with the law.

'We are not India'

The minister stressed that the matter would not go unheeded in Pakistan, unlike India where violence against Muslims takes place "every now and then" without anyone batting an eye.

“We are not India. The entire nation stands unified against such acts and demands strongest action against the beasts who were involved in the cold-blooded murder,” the information minister said.

He said that the government of Pakistan will take stern measures to stem vigilantism, to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.

“The Prime Minister Imran Khan in his speech [earlier in the day] mentioned that the nation stands in unity against violence, just like it did when the attack on Army Public School took place in 2014,” Fawad said.

Earlier today, Prime Minister awarded a certificate of appreciation to Malik Adnan, who tried to save Priyantha Diyawadana from being lynched, stressing that the government will not spare those who resort to violence in the name of religion.

Addressing the event, the premier lauded Adnan's bravery, saying "role models are important in the country because people follow them."

"I am sure our youth will remember the way Malik Adnan stood up against those beasts," he said.