The Church of Pakistan applauds the decision in the Sialkot lynching case.
LAHORE: The Church of Pakistan’s leadership has hailed the death penalty for six persons and life imprisonment for the killing of Sri Lankan factory manager Priyantha Kumara in Sialkot on alleged blasphemy allegations.
On April 18, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore sentenced the remaining 72 lynch mob members to two years in prison. However, the presiding judge did not announce the judgement on nine adolescents whose trials are still ongoing.
Kumara, 48, was accused of blasphemy at the plant he operated in Sialkot, Punjab, and was lynched by a mob on December 3. Church leaders in Pakistan and Sri Lanka have called for action to be taken against the perpetrators.
In a press release, Church of Pakistan President Bishop Azad Marshall praised the ruling, stating that the judiciary had given Pakistanis hope for justice.
“We hope that the court’s ruling will create a precedent against vigilantism and mob violence in the name of religion,” Bishop Marshall stated. “At the same time, we trust that the penalties handed down to the criminals will be upheld by the superior courts in the appeals phase.”
The senior church leader stated that it was past time for the government to take action to prevent the abuse of the blasphemy legislation.
“Nearly 90 people have been slain extrajudicially on blasphemy claims since the 1980s,” he added, adding that “no government has introduced any legislation to limit the misuse of these sensitive laws.”
He went on to say that the church’s leadership had frequently discussed the problem with the administration of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, but that he, too, had ignored their appeals.
“We are not asking for the repeal or elimination of these laws; rather, we are asking for the inclusion of a provision in the legislation that mandates equivalent penalty to false accusers of blasphemy.” “A significant disincentive is critical to discouraging individuals from abusing these rules to settle their scores,” he said.
