Hawzah News Agency –On Wednesday, he met the Sri Lankan High Commissioner along with SAPM on Religious Harmony Tahir Ashrafi and extended condolences on the death of Priyantha Kumara.

On December 3, the Sri Lankan national was tortured and beaten to death by a mob of over 800 people on Friday over alleged blasphemy accusations. After the brutal murder, his body was dragged to a road and burnt.

In a media briefing, Maulana Tariq Jameel strongly condemned the killing. “What happened in Sialkot was torture. It was an injustice. The people responsible for the incident will be severely punished,” he promised.

The scholar said that he has been preaching the message of love and peace for over 20 years and will continue to do so till he breathes his last.

“Islam is the name of security. Our faith teaches us peace. The prophet has taught us that the murder of one person is the murder of humanity.”

He stressed that killing someone is a sin and no one has the right to burn someone alive.

“We have talked to the Sri Lankan High Commissioner and apologised to him. We are ashamed.”

At this point, Tahir Ashrafi added that Islam doesn’t have space for extremism. “We have decided to take up the financial responsibility of Priyatha’s children. The deceased’s job has been offered to another Sri Lankan national.”

The Sri Lankan High Commission has, on the other hand, appreciated Pakistan’s efforts and expressed satisfaction over the investigations into the Sialkot incident.

The Punjab police have, so far, arrested 150 people. These include the men who were seen in viral videos from the scene. They have been remanded into police custody. Earlier, the prosecution decided to conduct the case trial, which will begin in January, behind bars.