Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday expressed the resolve that the government would not spare anyone found resorting to violence in the name of religion.
He was addressing a condolence reference for the Sri Lankan national who was mob lynched in Sialkot on Friday at Prime Minister’s Office.
“From now on, if anyone is found using religion, especially resorting to violence in the name of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the government will not spare him,” the premier maintained.
He said that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was sent as a blessing for the entire human race, not just Muslims.
“His message was based on two principles: humanity and justice; these two traits distinguish humans from animals,” he said, adding that what happened in Sialkot was an example of “might is right” — a rule that prevails in the jungle, but has no place in human societies.
He said that the kind of events we have been witnessing in the country lately, where some people use religion to torture and burn other human beings, are unacceptable.
The premier also talked about people who are falsely accused of blasphemy and are sent to jail.
“Some people are falsely accused of blasphemy and are thrown in jail to rot in there, as neither any lawyer nor any judge wants to support them,” he said. “This kind of [sham justice] cannot be found in any humanitarian society of the world.”
Citing the example of the Army Public School massacre, the premier said that since that day, the whole country has decided not to tolerate any such incidents again.
“Since then, all Pakistanis have united against terrorism — something which had been unprecedented in the country.”
The premier said that the business community in Sialkot has accumulated $100,000 for the family of Diyawadanage Don Nandasri Priyantha, while they will continue to send his salary to his widow each month.
PM Khan then spoke about the establishment of the Rehmatul lil Alameen Authority and said that he came up with the idea to bring together Islamic scholars and devise strategies to spread the true message of the holy prophet in society.
“We want our children to know who the holy prophet (PBUH) was and what was his life like,” the premier said.
The PM also talked about the courage of a man named Malik Adnan, who had tried to rescue Priyantha from the violent mob.
“We are proud of his bravery and courage, as he proved that moral strength is greater than physical strength,” the premier said. “Hopefully, the young people of Pakistan will remember Malik Adnan as a human being who stood up in front of hundreds of animals.”
He said that Adnan will be granted an award for his bravery on March 23, 2022.
At the end of his speech, the premier reiterated: “As long as I am alive, I will not allow incidents like the Sialkot lynching to happen again.”
Diyawadanage Don Nandasri Priyantha, was working at a factory in Sialkot. Hundreds of people, including workers from the factory, had tortured him to death and later burnt his body over blasphemy allegations.
The incident drew widespread condemnation from Pakistanis and the international community alike, following which the federal government had also on Monday decided to implement a comprehensive strategy to curb violence in the country.
