We, the undersigned, condemn the brutal murder of Priyantha Kumara on 3  December 2021 in Sialkot, Pakistan. Kumara, a Sri Lankan national, was  lynched and his body set alight by a mob after allegations of blasphemy were reportedly levelled against him.  

Kumara’s murder is not an isolated incident, but the latest episode of an  ongoing and increasing pandemic of violence perpetrated in the name of  religion. According to the Centre for Social Justice (Pakistan), at least 81 

people accused of blasphemy have been extralegally killed in Pakistan since  1994.  

The spike in such violence coincides with blasphemy becoming a capital  offence under Pakistani law. Blasphemy has been criminalised in Pakistan  since Partition; however, the introduction of the discretionary death penalty for  blasphemy in 1986 (which became mandatory in 1991) appears to have  inflamed religious tensions in the country. Since then, the number of  blasphemy accusations has soared, with the Centre for Social Justice  (Pakistan) documenting a record 200 cases in 2020 alone. It has been  suggested that the State’s strict anti-death penalty stance—of which the  hundreds of death sentences meted out are illustrative—and paradoxical  reluctance to carry out executions on this basis have encouraged civilians to  take matters into their own hands, inspiring vigilante justice. 

Pakistani authorities have been widely criticised for failing to address, and in  some cases even endorsing, such violence. Amnesty International has stated that ‘the lack of a consistent, robust and timely response by the authorities to  situations of developing mob violence… and the failure to prosecute rigorously  

and promptly those responsible, leads to a climate of impunity which can  provide fertile ground for further such attacks’. 

We call on Pakistan to take urgent steps to realise justice for Kumara and his  family, and to address the deep-seated legal and sociocultural issues of which  this crime is a symptom. Failure to act would render the authorities as having  acquiesced to, or being complicit in, killings of this nature. In the short term,  we welcome Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to oversee a  comprehensive and impartial investigation of Kumara’s murder and hold his  assailants accountable by full and fair operation of criminal justice processes.

Looking forward, we call on the government of Pakistan to: 

1. Take steps to reform its blasphemy framework, including the abolition of  the death penalty for blasphemy, in a manner that is both compliant with  international human rights law and accommodating of societal  sensitivities. 
2. 2. Recognise that in addition to legal reform, administrative and  educational measures must be taken to end the climate of fear and the  impunity with which blasphemy-related violence is committed.