Sialkot worker who tried to save Sri Lankan man from mob to be awarded Tamgha-i-Shujaat
Pakistan has announced a top civilian award for a man who risked his life and tried his best to save Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana, the Sri Lankan factory manager, from angry mob over blasphemy allegations.
Malik Adnan, a colleague of the slain Sri Lankan citizen, will be awarded Tamgha-i-Shujaat (Medal of Bravery) for “endangering his own life by physically trying to shield the victim,” Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Twitter.
In the videos circulating on social media, Malik Adnan was seen confronting a group of vigilantes and making desperate attempts to protect the Sri Lankan national. He, however, could not succeed in his attempts as the charged mob overpowered him.
Diyawadana was beaten to death and his body burned by a mob in Sialkot on Friday in the most horrific incidents in the country’s history.
Punjab police have detained more than a hundred involved in the attack including 19 suspects who played a central role in the lynching according to the investigation so far.
Pakistan PM Khan said he had spoken to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and assured him that justice would be done in Kumara’s lynching case.