By Afshain Afzal
To kill three not two birds with one stone; this time it was sectarian poster that took life of another innocent person in Pakistan. An attempt to ruin Pakistan Sri Lanka growing relationship. The sectarian posters pasted inside the Rajco Industry, a private sportswear manufacturer and exporter industrial concern located at Naul at Wazirabad Road in Pakistani city of Sialkot become a source of regrettable 3rd December incident. Senior factory manager, a Sri Lankan national namely Priyantha Kumara was ruthlessly killed on Friday over alleged blasphemy charges for removing sectarian posters. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa condemned the brutal killing of national in Pakistan and demanded justice. This is not the first incident of the nature as it has become important ingredient of crimes, where sometimes state sponsors them in the name of interfaith harmony to crate a balance between sects and faiths. The incident was a planned one to reach three objectives; firstly to badly damage growing Pakistan Sri Lanka relations; secondly to allow state machinery to formulate tougher laws on religious organizations and lastly to create international hatred against Islam and Pakistan. 
The printed poster on the wall inside the factory bore written slogans, "Labbaik Ya Hussain" and an advisory to recite "Darood Shareef" in the morning. According to eyewitnesses present during the incident inside the factory, "The Ahle Tassiah Shia workers decided to teach Priyantha Kumara a lesson for removing the poster so that no body should ever dare try to insult Prophets again and started beating him". No body allowed Priyantha Kumara to explain and resorted to blows and kicks. Priyantha Kumara fled upstairs to the roof to save his life. Workers chased him and threw him from roof to ground. Despite serious injuries and requests by some workers, they kept beating him until his death and later dragged his dead body outside the factory before setting it on fire by angry mob at GT Road Chowk.
Where three main groups; Tehreek-e-Fiqah Jaffaria Pakistan, Majlis Wadhat-e-Muslimeen and Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan are being blamed for the incident, however, official statement to media did not come except Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan whose spokesman termed it unfortunate that the incident had been attributed to the Tehreek Labbaik and demanded that conspiracy should be investigated impartially, keeping in view all aspects including background actors." The fact cannot be denied that such posters are not permitted to be displayed on private and public walls, billboards, road side signs, bridges and wall chalking everywhere. Leader of the Deobandi school of thought and Special Representative to Prime Minister on Religious Harmony, Maulana Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, while condemning the incident termed it as an act of terrorism and demanded case be registered under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. He said, “Those who killed the Sri Lankan manager in Sialkot have committed an un-Islamic, inhumane act and I believe such an act have brought disrepute to Islam and to Pakistan. In fact, they have opposed the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his code of conduct.”
Police officials from Uggoki police station said, "The manager had torn down a religious poster and thrown it in the dustbin.” The video clip has showed many persons including two identified as Farhan Idrees and Usman Rashid seen in a video clip thrashing the deceased on the equal provocation of other factory workers. The witnesses said, "The foreigner, while inspecting the workers in a hall of the factory, asked the supervisor to remove the posters on reluctance, he removed some posters from a wall bearing slogan, "Labbaik Ya Hussain Alhe Salam" and put them into a dustbin, which infuriated the factory workers who attacked him." The witnesses added, "At no point of time any element of the Police, district management or law enforcement agencies tried to intervene to save the life of Sri Lankan manager."
The official mouthpiece of Pakistan Army, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, "The cold blooded murder of Sri Lankan citizen by a mob at Sialkot is extremely condemnable and shameful. Such extra judicial vigilantism cannot be condoned at any cost. COAS directs all out support to civil administration to arrest perpetrators of this heinous crime and bring them to justice." Concerned District Police Officer Omar Saeed Malik said the workers of the factory severely beat up the foreigner, leading to his death instantly. Later on his body was also set on fire by the angry mob." He added, "Upon receiving a report about the incident, a heavy contingent of police reached the spot and tried to control the situation and after successful talks with the angry group of protesters, traffic was restored on the road.”
There is no doubt that it was a display of bigotry and intolerance. One wonders what is the responsibility of state machinery in Islamic Republic of Pakistan, should it allow the general masses to interpret Islam and take justice system in their hands. Article 2 A of the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan states, "Wherein the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed." This means that it is the responsibility of the state machinery to enforce Islamic principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice in Pakistan. Why so far code of democracy and religious freedom has not been announced. Can any Muslim citizen or member of minority allowed to exhibit his religion in the manner he or she deem fit? Sri and Pakistan have centuries long relations, which is recorded even before Muhammad Bin Qasim in 712 AD, when Arabs save Sri Lanka from Indian invasion. The people of Sri Lanka are very dear to Pakistani and the cold blooded murder by factory workers should not only be fully compensated but the sectarian group behind the posters and murder should be banned and punished. Legal frame work for handling such situation through district magistrate, Police and nearby military unit as provided under the law should investigated for not being enforced.