Tag: Sialkot

  • VIDEO: PTI leader’s son thrashes NADRA officer, police register case

    VIDEO: PTI leader’s son thrashes NADRA officer, police register case

    Police have filed a case against PTI leader’s Ghulam Abbas’ son, Ahsan Abbas, and his accomplices for thrashing a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in-charge officer in Sialkot, reports Dawn News.

    Abid Abdul Rehman was in-charge of the NADRA office at Chawinda in Pasrur tehsil, Sialkot who complained against Abbas at Phalora police station.

    According to Rehman, Ahsan Abbas first called him to the NADRA office and asked to assist him in making voting ID cards on February 18. However, Rehman refused to give him protocol.

    He said that all citizens who visit the NADRA office are equal over which Abbas became violent. He started misbehaving and threatening him as well.

    The NADRA officer said, “After some time, Abbas, his right-hand man Shaukat Mitla and five other people entered the Nadra office and he grabbed me by the collar and slapped and abused me.”

    He also added that senior officers tried to rescue him but they were also beaten.

    A case has been registered against Ahsan Abbas and his accomplices under the Telegraph Act 25-D / 506 and section 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

    Sialkot police conducted raids to arrest the assailants. Police Officer, Muhammad Hassan Iqbal assured that the investigation would be conducted on merit.

    Ghulam Abbas was a former provincial minister and a ticket holder from  NA-74, Sialkot.

  • Priyantha Kumara lynching trial case shifts to Lahore Kot Lakhpat Jail

    Priyantha Kumara lynching trial case shifts to Lahore Kot Lakhpat Jail

    The government has decided to transfer the Srilankan manager, Priyantha Kumara lynching case to Lahore Kot Lakhpat Jail from Gujranwala.

    The government issued the notification on Thursday that the trial would now be conducted in the Lahore Kot Lakhpat Jail. Previously, an anti-terrorism court of Gujranwala was hearing the case.

    Special Prosecutor General, Abdur Rauf Watto has been leading a three-member special prosecution team that has been pursuing the trial.

    The government has given directions to the team to submit the daily progress report of the trial to Prosecutor General Punjab.

    The police arrested more than 100 people including one of the main culprits, Farhan Idrees who were involved in the heinous act.

    In December, last year, Priyantha Kumara was tortured to death on the alleged charges of blasphemy by an angry mob. He was working as a manager at a private sportswear manufacturing factory in Sialkot.

  • Pak business community gives widow of Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara aid, PM Khan appreciates

    Pak business community gives widow of Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara aid, PM Khan appreciates

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has appreciated the efforts of the Sialkot business community and Rajco Industries to provide aid to the widow of Priyantha Kumara who was beaten to death and burnt by a mob in Sialkot on the basis of blasphemy.

    In a tweet, PM said, “I want to appreciate the Sialkot business community for transferring $100,000 to the account of Priyantha Kumara’s widow and Rajco Industries for transferring monthly salary of $ 1667 to her account – which they will do for 10 yrs.”

    Kumara’s family including his wife and children reside in his hometown in Sri Lanka. He used to work in Rajco Industries as a general manager and had been living in Pakistan since 2010.

    Rajco Industries reportedly has sent the financial aid of $100,000 (Rs17.6m) and the salary of $1,667 (Rs293,260) for the month of December 2021 to Kumara’s window.

    Last month, media reports had said that the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) raised the amount of $100,000. The chamber President Mian Imran Akbar said they are taking appropriate steps to prevent such incidents in the future. He also ensured the safety and security of foreign employees and businessmen.

    Following this, Special Assistant to PM Dr Shahbaz Gill tweeted: “The funds and salary are committed by Rajco Industries for next 10 years and announced by Honourable Prime Minister of Pakistan have been transferred to the account of Widow of deceased Sri Lankan Manager Mr Priyanatha Khumara in Sri Lanka”.

  • Woman in Sialkot dragged in public, brutally tortured over land dispute

    Woman in Sialkot dragged in public, brutally tortured over land dispute

    An aged woman was dragged and beaten up openly on a road in Sialkot. The unfortunate incident which was captured on camera occurred due to a land dispute.

    The woman is shown being seized by her hair, dragged, kicked, and even attacked with sticks in the footage.

    After the video went viral, Sialkot police took action, registering a case in opposition to 15 suspects, and arresting nine, together with four women.

    The elderly woman stated the incident arose because of a “land dispute” that she has had for the last 13 years.

    The culprits “banged my house door, forced their way in and dragged me through the streets to the public square where they tortured me”, the woman said.
    “I seek justice and the arrest of these people,” she pleaded.

    Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar sought a report from the Inspector General of Police over the incident and ordered immediate action against the suspects.

    He said that justice must be provided to the elderly woman and those involved in this crime “do not deserve any concessions”.

  • PM Khan shares Javed Ghamidi video on Instagram, public appreciates

    PM Khan shares Javed Ghamidi video on Instagram, public appreciates

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on his official Instagram account shared a video interview of Islamic scholar Javed Ghamidi.

    Javed Ghamidi is a Pakistani Muslim theologian, Quran scholar, Islamic modernist, and educationist.

    The premier shared an interview of Ghamidi where he is discussing the Sialkot incident at length.

    The general public appreciated the premier sharing the point of view of the moderate scholar.

  • ‘Murders happen when young people get emotional’: Pervez Khattak says govt shouldn’t be blamed for Sialkot lynching

    ‘Murders happen when young people get emotional’: Pervez Khattak says govt shouldn’t be blamed for Sialkot lynching

    Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, while talking to the media in Peshawar, said that the horrific lynching of a Sri Lankan man at the hands of a mob in Sialkot should not be linked to the government, adding even “murders take place” when young people get emotional.

    A reporter questioned Khattak that the Sialkot killing had taken place after the government lifted the ban on the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), and asked Khattak whether the government was considering an “effective crackdown” against such groups.

    “You know the reasons [behind this incident] too. When children … grow up, they become spirited and do things out of emotions. This does not mean ‘this was the result of that action’,” responded Khattak, adding that in Sialkot some young men had gathered and accused Priyantha Kumara [Sri Lankan factory manager] of disrespecting Islam.

    Khattak said he too could do something wrong in a state of heightened emotions and added that such incidents did not mean “Pakistan is going towards destruction”.

    A reporter asked the minister whether he was attributing the murders of nine policemen by TLP protesters as well as that of Kumara to “emotions”.

    Reiterating his argument, Khattak said boys entering adulthood are “ready to do anything” and learn with age how to control their emotions. “So this happens among kids, fights take place and even murders. [Does] this mean it is the government’s fault?”

    “Why don’t you change this mindset? Your anchors should come on TV and make the children understand their religion. You only take advertisements and earn money,” added Khattak.

    Twitterati reacted to Khattak’s comments.

    Journalist Nasim Zehra tweeted, “Either he should apologise & withdraw this statement or he should resign from his post … it’s minds like his that mislead, that poison the young and the innocent..watch his disservice to both Islam and to Pak.”

    Journalist Saadia Afzal tweeted, “We are where we are because of such sorry state of affairs. This is our defence minister shamelessly justifying the incident. He should be sacked immediately.”

    Another person tweeted, “Oversimplify, justify and dehumanise!”

    https://twitter.com/zehrakamal/status/1467639479108190209

  • Fawad lauds Opposition’s Ahsan Iqbal, Mustafa Khokhar for calling out Fazlur Rehman

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry lauded Opposition members for calling out Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on his statement regarding the Sialkot lynching incident. 

    While referring to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Ahsan Iqbal and Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar’s tweets criticising Fazl’s comments, Fawad said, “The way everyone condemned the incident is commendable,” adding that he hoped the 220 million people of Pakistan, who hold moderate views, would come forward and condemn the incident.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1467434900743757831?s=20

    After the horrific lynching of a Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana, Maulana tweeted, “The incident in Sialkot is reprehensible and shameful. There should be a comprehensive investigation. However, if the state does not take action against those accused of blasphemy, then such incidents will continue to happen.”

    He went on to say that in the past, there had been a similar backlash against “government-sponsored fugitives accused of blasphemy”.

    Ahsan Iqbal said, “Respectfully Maulana Sahab, such incidents should be unconditionally condemned – Islam does not allow such fanaticism and illegal killings by mobs in any case.”

    Similarly, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar took to Twitter and wrote: “Maulana Fazlur Rehman Sahib is a respectable figure but, on this occasion, he should have condemned the Sialkot tragedy by taking a stand in blunt and clear words instead of using ifs and buts.”

    Priyantha was working as a manager at a private factory. He was lynched on Friday by a mob after being accused of alleged blasphemy.

  • Imagine the horror

    Imagine the horror

    Imagine a mob so ruthless, so violent, so remorseless that first, they kill an innocent man for tearing down a poster with religious text on it, then they burn the body in front of hundreds of people and several cameras because somehow their thirst for blood was not enough so now they had to humiliate a dead body. And then some of them had the audacity to take selfies with the burning body. All because he did something without even realising that he could be lynched to death for it. 

    Imagine that this man was a foreign national — a Sri Lankan — working as a factory manager in Sialkot, and whose wife heard about this most tragic incident from news and the internet. Imagine his wife’s shock and horror. Imagine the bereaved widow looking at those videos, those gruesome images, those murderers taking pride in killing her husband. Imagine her helplessness. Imagine that this man has two young children, nine and 14 respectively, who will have to live with this fact for the rest of their lives that their father was killed, nay lynched, by a frenzied mob in Pakistan. 

    Imagine that we live in a country where every other day is a ‘black day’, where every other incident is bone-chilling, where no one is safe, where so many horrors unfold that we move on from one terrifying incident to another and forget about the previous one. What have we become? How have we come to this point? Will our state introspect that our society has become so intolerant that it cannot even protect anyone? Will our state realise how extremism has permeated our society because it has been officially sanctioned through our policies? It is the responsibility of the state to protect the lives of every human being. The misuse of religion for political benefit, the misuse of religion for some vested interest, or allowing the misuse of religion for some external policy will eventually have consequences. And those are the consequences that we are facing every day. There are no words to express what this country is going through — those at the helm of the affairs have to now challenge this extremist ideology or the path ahead is very dark. And every second will then be dark and there will be no turning back. Let people live without fear. A society that has to look over its shoulders all the time cannot progress.

  • ‘If state doesn’t take action against those accused of blasphemy, such incidents will happen’: Maulana Fazl

    ‘If state doesn’t take action against those accused of blasphemy, such incidents will happen’: Maulana Fazl

    Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, holding the state responsible for the lynching incident in Sialkot, said, “If the state does not take action against the ones accused of blasphemy then such incidents will happen.”

    Taking his outrage to Twitter, Maulana wrote, “The incident in Sialkot is reprehensible and shameful. There should be a comprehensive investigation.”

    “In the past, there have been similar backlash against government-sponsored fugitives accused of blasphemy,” wrote Maulana.

    “Under the guise of such incidents, the international establishment conspires against the religious class and to make the Islamic provisions of the constitution controversial,” further tweeted Maulana.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal, disagreeing with Maulana Fazl tweeted, “Respectfully Maulana Sahib such incidents should be unconditionally condemned – Islam does not allow such fanaticism and illegal killings by mobs in any case.”

    “The nation expects the scholars to guide the nation in this matter,” tweeted Iqbal.

    Twitterati too reacted to Maulana’s statement.

  • ‘We are embarrassed’: Shoaib Malik condemns ‘violence’ in Sialkot, demands punishment for ‘culprits’

    ‘We are embarrassed’: Shoaib Malik condemns ‘violence’ in Sialkot, demands punishment for ‘culprits’

    Pakistan national cricketer Shoaib Malik, who belongs to Sialkot, has condemned the ‘violence’ in Sialkot by a mob.

    Taking to Twitter, the cricketer said: “My heartiest condolences, I stand with the family of the deceased & strongly condemn this act of violence.”

    He also said that what happened there should not have happened. The cricketer also demanded punishment for the culprits.

    He further added: “What happened, shouldn’t have happened, we are embarrassed. The culprits should be punished at the earliest… #Sialkot.”

    Former captain of Pakistan cricket team Shahid Afridi also expressed his thoughts, sharing a Quranic verse: “Whosoever kills a person … it shall be as if he has killed all mankind.”

    Similarly, Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hafeez expressed his grief on Twitter.

    “Condemning horrific attack on a factory & shameful incident in Sialkot. As Pakistani i wil call it a black day for our society,” he wrote while adding hashtags of #Sialkot and #Justice.”

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

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

    Several gruesome video clips shared on social media showed a mob beating the victim while chanting slogans against blasphemy.

    President Arif Alvi said the vigilante attack has nothing to do with religion as Prime Minister Imran Khan promised that those responsible “will be punished with the full severity of the law”.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted that the “horrific, vigilante attack” on the factory and the burning alive of the Sri Lankan man was “a day of shame for Pakistan”.

    “I am overseeing the investigations and, let there be no mistake, all those responsible will be punished with the full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress,” he added.

    Chief Minister of Punjab Usman Buzdar tweeted that he was “extremely shocked at the horrific Sialkot incident”.

    According to the latest updates, more than 100 people, including 13 of the main culprits have been arrested.

    Police is identifying all the culprits using CCTV footages.

    Meanwhile, the IG Punjab has ordered officials to submit a report within 48 hours.