ISLAMABAD: The upper house of the Parliament Friday passed a unanimous resolution in strong condemnation of Sialkot lynching incident, demanding “immediate punishment of not only the culprits involved in instigating and killing of Priyantha Kumara but also those involved in similar violent incidents in the past.”
Leader of the House in Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem presented the resolution in the Senate sitting presided over by Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.
The House met to discuss solely the Sialkot lynching incident while suspending the routine business agenda.
Senators from treasury and opposition joined hands to move the motion for discussion on the lynching incident. “The House may discuss the shameful act of violent mob attack against a Sri Lankan citizen, Priyantha Kumara, as it maligns the peaceful religion of Islam and Pakistan. There exists a need for thorough debate in the Senate to make concerted efforts to curb violent tendencies and to stop such incidents from happening in future,” reads the motion jointly moved by Waseem, Azam Tarar from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Raza Rabbani from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Kamran Murtaza from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F), Mushtaq Ahmed from Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Hidayatullah Khan from Awami National Party (ANP), Shafiq Tareen from Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Tahir Bizenjo from National Party (NP), Khalida Ateeb from Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), Sajid Mir from PML-N and Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar (independent).
“The unfortunate incident of gruesome brutality reflects the mindset of extremist elements that exists in our society, which has not only tarnished the peaceful image of Pakistan but also Islam,” stated the resolution which received the House’s unanimous nod.
“This brutality is sheer violation of the spirit, principles, teachings and injunctions of Islam, the practices of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), moral and human values, constitution and laws of Pakistan, and customs and norms of our society,” it said.
In the resolution, the House, “Expressed its deepest sympathy with the family of Priyantha Kumara and echoed the grief and sorrow felt and expressed at national level over this brutal and shameful incident.”
Speaking on the occasion, the chairman Senate said, a delegation of senators would soon visit Sri Lanka to personally hand over a copy of this resolution to the family of Priyantha Kumara and express condolences with the bereaved family.
Railways Minister Azam Swati said the Sialkot lynching incident has been condemned by each and every segment of the society in Pakistan and abroad. “We have to stand up to extremism,” he added.
Rabbani, the former chairman Senate, stressed on the implementation of National Action Plan (NAP) in letter and spirit to weed out religious extremism. “Unless the root cause of religious extremism in Pakistan is identified, such incidents would continue to happen,” he added.
Rabbani expressed concern over reports that Afghanistan’s Taliban government was not allowing Pakistan’s military to fence the border, and asked Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to take Parliament into confidence over the issue.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021