Rights group condemns brutal murder of Sri Lankan in Pakistan's Sialkot

Washington [US], December 5 : Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) has condemned the horrific incident in Pakistan's Sialkot where a man from Sri Lanka was beaten and burnt alive on December 3 by a mob alleging a blasphemous act.
Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara whose real name is Diyawadanage Priyanthaa was working as the general manager in a factory named RajCo Industries in Sialkot district since 2013, was falsely accused of having torn and removed a religious poster with factory workers accusing him of blasphemy, according to the statement released by Human Rights Focus Pakistan.
Naveed Walter, president of HRFP said that the conflict started when Priyantha asked his Supervisor Arfan Adrees to clean the factory and in reaction, he gathered the factory workers against Priyantha with the help of his assistant Usman and others.
"The incident is an addition in defaming Pakistan's image more, where several such incidents have already been happening with Christians, Hindus, and others in past and some foreigners have also been assassinated," the HRPF chairman said.
"Rule of law and state has failed to safe the foreigners and non-Muslims which will affect on the individuals and business community also who are interested to come and start work or establish their businesses. He said further, HRFP will keep monitoring of case and to make sure it's free and fair trial proceedings," he added.
The mob attacks and killing of innocents have a long history in Pakistan but why the security have agencies have not become able to control over on an immediate basis in most of the same incidents, HRFP statement said.
Further, the authorities of Pakistan have been urged for the past several decades to change the country's blasphemy laws, but the Islamists in the country have strongly resisted whenever the issue was discussed even, HRFP statement added