Day: April 18, 2022

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced six men to death and nine others to life in prison for lynching a Sri Lankan factory manager, who they accused of insulting Islam.

The court announced the verdict Monday, sentencing 72 additional suspects to “rigorous” jail terms of two years each. Another person received five years’ imprisonment for his role in the fatal mob assault on Priyantha Kumara in December.

The incident took place in the industrial Sialkot district in Punjab province, where Kumara had worked as an export quality control manager at a sporting goods factory for 10 years before being tortured and burned by hundreds of coworkers as well as local activists of a radical Islamist group.

The slain man was accused of desecrating and removing posters bearing the name of the Prophet Muhammad from factory walls before informing others about the allegedly blasphemous act. However, investigators later concluded that the accusations were baseless and Kumara was murdered merely for instructing workers to abide by factory regulations.

The foreigner’s brutal murder had drawn nationwide outrage and condemnation, with demands that the perpetrators be publicly hanged, prompting Pakistani authorities to swiftly arrest dozens of suspects and put them on trial.

Defense lawyer Israr Ullah said the special court had conducted the trial inside a prison in the provincial capital, Lahore, for security reasons before announcing the verdict Monday.

Mob lynchings of alleged blasphemers are common in Pakistan, but the assault on the Sri Lankan national was the first such incident involving a foreigner.

In January, Kumara’s employer announced it would pay his salary, approximately $1,700 per month, to his widow for the next 10 years, while the Sialkot business community separately donated and transferred $100,000 to her account.

Blasphemy is a highly sensitive matter in majority-Muslim Pakistan and carries the death penalty under local laws, although no one convicted of the crime has been executed to date as lower court convictions are often overturned by the higher judiciary.

Critics have long called for reforming the laws, saying they are abused by influential members of society and religious fanatics to intimidate the country’s religious minorities and pressure opponents into settling personal feuds.

Source: Voice of America

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed the commitment to work tirelessly for the welfare of the people.

Inaugurating Orange Line Metro Bus Service from Peshawar Morr to New Islamabad International Airport on Monday, the Prime Minister said he will work with the same speed that he is used to.

The Prime Minister regretted delay in the operationalization of Peshawar Morr- New Islamabad airport metro bus service. He said this project was a gift from PML (N) Quaid Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to the residents of the federal capital. It was started in 2017 and it had to be operationalized in 2018. However like other projects, the previous government delayed this public transport project as well. He said the lack of will and spirit delayed this project, otherwise, there was no other reason as funds were available for it.

The Prime Minister said that no ticket will be charged from the commuters using this metro service during the holy month of Ramadan. He said fifteen buses have been taken from Punjab Metro Authority to run this service.

Shehbaz Sharif expressed his gratitude to China and Turkey for their contributions in the public transport project. He also asked the Chinese side to reconsider Karachi Circular Railway project as this will bring great dividends for the people of Karachi.

He said China is a great friend which has always stood by Pakistan and contributed immensely to building Pakistan’s economy. He said the CPEC is a game changer project.

The Prime Minister was also appreciative of Turkey for standing by Pakistan in difficult times.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has underscored the commitment of his government to further advance the historic and longstanding relations with Saudi Arabia by exploring new avenues of cooperation.

He was talking to Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Maliki, who called on him in Islamabad on Monday.

The Saudi Ambassador conveyed felicitations on his election as the Prime Minister and reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s desire to further strengthen bilateral relations.

The Prime Minister affirmed that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy fraternal relations, characterized by mutual trust, close cooperation, and commonality of views on all issues of common interest.

Shehbaz Sharif recalled his recent conversation with the Crown Prince and stated that they had agreed to work together to take Pakistan-Saudi relations to new heights.

The Prime Minister lauded the vision of the Saudi leadership in transforming the country in a remarkable way.

He thanked the Saudi Ambassador and appreciated his important role in fostering closer Pakistan-Saudi relations.

The Prime Minister also lauded the contribution of the Pakistani community working in Saudi Arabia in the progress and development of the two countries.

Source: Radio Pakistan

A regional affiliate of Islamic State on Monday said it had carried out a rocket attack on Uzbekistan from neighboring Afghanistan, the first strike by the terrorist group against the Central Asian nation.

Islamic State Khorasan Province fired 10 rockets at an Uzbek military base in the border town of Termez, the group said in a statement released Monday, according to Site Intelligence, which tracks terrorist propaganda.

Uzbek authorities did not immediately comment on IS Khorasan’s claims.

The launching pad was reportedly in Hairatan, a border town in the northern Afghan province of Balkh. The terror group also released a photo and video of the projectiles to back its claims.

IS Khorasan has increased attacks in and around Afghanistan following the U.S.-led foreign military withdrawal from the country in August after 20 years.

The group has carried out several attacks in neighboring Pakistan, including a deadly suicide bombing of a Shiite mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar last month.

The attack killed more than 60 worshippers from the minority sect and wounded scores of others. Pakistani authorities said the bomber was an Afghan refugee who received training in Afghanistan.

Pakistani Taliban attacks

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), designated as a global terrorist group by Washington, has also stepped up attacks in Pakistan from its Afghan bases since the foreign troop withdrawal and the Taliban’s return to power.

Authorities in Islamabad say leaders and fighters of the banned anti-Pakistan militant outfit have established bases in Afghanistan after fleeing Pakistani counterterrorism operations and are plotting cross-border attacks against security forces.

Pakistani officials say that since the start of the year, more than 100 Pakistani military officers and soldiers have been killed in TTP-plotted roadside bombings and gun attacks in remote districts on the Afghan border.

On Sunday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry urged Taliban rulers in Afghanistan to take “stern actions” against militants staging cross-border attacks on security forces in Pakistan.

“Pakistan has repeatedly requested Afghan government in last few months to secure Pak-Afghan border region. Terrorists are using Afghan soil with impunity to carry out activities inside Pakistan,” the ministry said in a statement.

The statement came a day after the Taliban accused Pakistan of carrying out deadly airstrikes inside Afghanistan. They summoned Islamabad’s ambassador in Kabul to the Foreign Ministry to protest the alleged early Saturday strikes that reportedly killed up to 40 people in the Afghan provinces of Khost and Kunar.

The casualties and the alleged Pakistani airstrikes could not be verified from independent sources.

Islamabad has been pressing the Taliban to rein in TTP activities since the Islamist group seized control of Afghanistan and U.S.-led foreign troops withdrew from the country.

It is widely known that the TTP provided recruits and sheltered Afghan Taliban commanders on the Pakistani side of the porous border between the two countries to launch insurgent attacks against the then-Western-backed government in Kabul and international troops inside Afghanistan.

Source: Voice of America