ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi on Monday approved of conferring Tamgha-e-Shujaat on Malik Adnan who had tried to rescue a Sri Lankan national in Sialkot from a mob that lynched him over blasphemy allegations.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced to confer the gallantry award on Malik Adnan in recognition of his bravery to try and save the Sri Lankan nation from the charged crowd.

Malik Adnan had attempted to save 49-year-old Sri Lankan factory manager Priyantha Kumara Diyawadanage from getting lynched by a frantic mob in Sialkot on December 3, 2021.

Read more: Scores arrested in Sialkot lynching case

The premier in his announcement on Twitter said that: “On behalf of the nation I want to salute moral courage and bravery of Malik Adnan who tried his utmost to shelter and save Priyantha Diyawadana from the vigilante mob in Sialkot, endangering his own life by physically trying to shield victim,” adding, “We will award him Tamgha-e-Shujaat”.

The horrific killing drew widespread condemnation from all segments of society, including government officials and human rights bodies.

The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on December 20 highly condemned the inhumane actions taken by a mob in the name of Islam against a Sri Lankan national in Sialkot and demanded the state to ensure that culprits involved are tried under the law and punished in clear terms.

Read more: Sri Lanka satisfied over Pakistan’s action in Sialkot lynching case

In a press conference convened after a special session meeting, The CII also said that more legislations will be a futile exercise to avoid cases like Sialkot incident in fact the implementation of laws is the real point of concern in the country.

After the session, while reading the declaration of the 226th Special Meeting of the CII, the chairman CII, Qibla Ayaz said that that the Pakistani government after happening of this incident handled the difficult situation with utmost wisdom on which the Sri Lankan government and people expressed satisfaction.

The chairman of CCI said that the CII has also decided to hold a series of thought-provoking meetings with experts on the causes and prevention of extremist tendencies in order to present long-term and expeditious proposals to the government, the state and to legislatures and to form opinion on it so that practical steps can be taken to prevent cases like in future.