NCHR calls to set up high-powered committee for probe

Islamabad : National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) has expressed serious concern and condemnation of the incident of beating to death and burning of the body of Sri Lankan factory Manager Nanadasi Priyanth Kumara in Sialkot and has demanded high power investigation committee and exemplary punishment for the perpetrators.

The Commission has also called for strategic measures to address increasing extremism and systemic rise of mob violence and urges religious leaders and scholars, social activists, community leaders, and political parties to play their role in tackling any kind of extremism in the society.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Commission says that it stands with the aggrieved family of Nanadasi Priyanth Kumara and demands an impartial, in-depth, and speedy probe of the incident, the late response of the police, and lack of security.

“At the onset, my heart goes out to the family of Nanadasi Priyanth Kumara. In one’s worst nightmare, one cannot possibly imagine what it must feel like to see the person you love tortured, violated, and killed in the most inhuman way possible,” said Chairperson NCHR Rabiya Javeri Agha in her remarks.

The Commission regrets that its first introduction statement is issued on this unfortunate incident that has shaken the whole nation. “We, at the Commission, are deeply perturbed by the brutal mob violence and blatant violation of human rights, especially against a guest in our country. We believe that no civilized country can allow such an act, and the state shall take the strictest possible measures to ensure speedy justice,” states the statement.

It further mentions that NCHR is following the progress being made in investigating the case with all concerned departments. In a letter written to Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar, the NCHR has demanded a high power investigation committee and exemplary punishment for the perpetrators to avoid such incidents in the future.

Commission’s Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha also said that the Sialkot incident should be a wake-up call to reassess the direction that the youth of Pakistan are heading towards. “It is not about religion but the growth of violent extremism, defiance of law, and ignorance. We have suffocated the soft power of art, music, and culture. Social and cultural norms that celebrate power and resolutions of conflicts through violence will find release through child abuse, gender violence, and mob madness such as this.”

NCHR is a statuary body set up to monitor, create awareness and protect the universal value of human rights, promote humanitarian culture, and curb violations of human rights without discrimination.