Army chief vows all-out support to arrest killers of Sri Lankan man

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed on Friday condemned the “cold-blooded” murder of Sri Lankan national over blasphemy allegations in Sialkot and vowed to extend all-out support to civil administration to arrest the culprits. The Sri Lankan national was tortured to death in the Punjab town earlier today. An angry mob of hundreds also set the body of foreign national on fire after lynching him over blasphemy allegations. A police official, who arrived at the scene of the incident, told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity that the deceased was the operational manager at the factory for the past seven years. “The cold-blooded murder of Srilankan Mr Priyantha Kumara by a mob in Sialkot is extremely condemnable and shameful,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) quoted Gen Qamar as saying on Friday. Also read: 'Day of shame': PM vows to punish culprits of Sialkot lynching Gen Qamar, as per the military’s media wing said such extra-judicial vigilantism cannot be condoned at any cost. “[The] COAS directs all out support to civil administration to arrest perpetrators of this heinous crime and bring them to justice,” it added. Earlier, Punjab government spokesperson Hassan Khawar said that at least 50 people allegedly involved in the grisly act have been detained thus far. Addressing the media hours after the tragic incident, the spokesperson, flanked by PM’s aide on interfaith harmony Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi and Inspector General Police Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan, said Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar have issued directives to detain all accused involved in the heinous crime. He said that officials were obtaining the CCTV footage of the incident to arrest the culprits and added that the Punjab police chief had directed the officials to submit the report within 48 hours.

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