Pakistan: at least 120 arrested after Sri Lankan lynched, set ablaze

Official says up to 120 arrests made and raids are continuing after factory manager, accused of blasphemy, was killed on Friday.

Dozens of people have been arrested in Pakistan after a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob who accused him of blasphemy.

Several gruesome video clips shared on social media showed a mob beating the victim while chanting slogans against blasphemy on Friday. Other clips showed his body set ablaze, as well as the overturned wreckage of what was said to be his car.

“Police experts are investigating this case from various angles, including that some factory workers played a religious card to take revenge on the manager,” said Tahir Ashrafi, a religious scholar and special representative of the prime minister on religious harmony, who confirmed the arrests and said some workers had said the manager was “very strict”.

Malik Naseem Awan, a resident and lawyer in Sialkot, a district in central Punjab province about 200km (125 miles) southeast of the capital, Islamabad, where the attack took place, told agencies he was worried about the effect it would have on the country’s image.

“I can’t tell you how embarrassed I am. It would have been different if someone had done this individually but the crowd present there was watching it silently, and no one tried to rescue him,” he said.

The attack has caused outrage, with Prime Minister Imran Khan calling it a “day of shame for Pakistan”.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES