How to cure these lunatics? The crimes of these lunatics can only be stopped through a genuine national and international cooperation that can work with the primary objective of zero tolerance for extremism and fanaticism. Such broader cooperation cannot be built by following double standards.
Editorial
An unarmed Sri Lankan national employed by a Pakistani factory has been tortured and burned alive by a group of superstitious fanatics in broad daylight on a crowded street in Pakistan. Disturbed videos of the victim being stripped naked and tortured by these brutal fanatics and dragged the victim along the road to burn in front of the crowd have been circulated on local media in the country. The lunatics accused the victim of insulting Islam known as blasphemy, but moderate Muslims who witnessed the incident told the local media that he had not done so. According to the video footage, a large number of local security personnel were on the scene at the time of the crime but did not intervene to prevent it.
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| Screengrab from a video circulated in Pakistani local media: The hype of irresponsibility of men in uniform while fanatics drinking the human blood |
We express our deepest condolences on this premature loss of life of an unarmed person due to this unfortunate incident. We also extend our strong condemnation to all the fanatical nominees involved in this murder. This is not a question of faith-based moral values taught by religion. This is a question of decency and vulgarity; humanity and inhumanity; morality and immorality; dignity and villainy; inclusivism and exclusivism.
We hope that the Government of Pakistan and the responsible authorities will take immediate action in this regard. It is also the responsibility of the Pakistani authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice without releasing them in the name of religion. It is very unfortunate that a Sri Lankan citizen has to pay with his life in the face of such a tragic fate in a country that has been friendly to us throughout history.
This is not new. A number of tragic incidents similar to this are taking place frequently where fanatics manipulate the social fabric of any society, including Pakistan. Pakistan is a country plagued by fanatics who have no respect for individual freedoms and rights. It is a country where fanatics stone women to death in front of court complexes and celebrate their “fanatic way of justice”. This incident has reaffirmed the harsh reality of the violent behaviours of fanatics using religion as a pretext. This horrific incident illustrates the dreadful nature and inhumanity of Islamic extremism. This is the true nature of extremism spread throughout the Sri Lankan society by fanatics including Zahran and his followers, who were, directly and indirectly, involved in suicide bombings on Easter in 2019.
How to cure these lunatics? The crimes of these lunatics can only be stopped through a genuine national and international cooperation that can work with the primary objective of zero tolerance for extremism and fanaticism. Such broader cooperation cannot be built by following double standards. That is, this rooted social cancer cannot be eradicated by opposing extremism on the surface while providing the support and resources it needs internally. The lesson that the Sri Lankan man who lost his life to fanatics in a street in Pakistan's Sialkot district is taught the world, yet again, is the need for a broader alliance that can work sincerely against any form of extremism and fanaticism. Let’s work together to cure fanatics and protect humanity.
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