On December 3, 2021 Priyantha Kumara, a Sri Lankan national, was lynched to death by a mob in Sialkot, apparently on an allegation of blasphemy. While there was outrage across Pakistan, the case exposed the brutality that has become part of a country where violence is the answer to everything, as both state and government cede space to violent mobs.
Now some sense of justice has prevailed, with an anti-terrorism court (ATC) issuing a verdict. The court has awarded the death sentence to (6) six men and life imprisonment to (9) nine. One culprit has received a five-year jail term whereas 72 persons will spend two years each in prison for their involvement in the lynching of the Sri Lankan factory manager in Sialkot.
While the verdict is welcome, in that it has seen a conclusion in a judicial system where often such cases drag on for want of prosecutorial competence.