Islamabad:  Amid a steady decline in Covid-19 infections, Pakistan's coronavirus positivity ratio further fell to 0.78%, the total death toll reached to 28,777. 

Around 336 fresh coronavirus cases emerged while 10 people succumbed to the disease in last 24 hours amid 'Omicron' threat.

Pakistan’s government will step up COVID-19 vaccination efforts and is expanding the criteria for vaccine booster shots, amid fears of the Omicron variant.

According to the latest figures issued by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 336 persons were tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. 

The total number of cases has reached 1,287,161. 

As many as 1,246,464 patients have recovered from the disease.

Punjab

The number of patients swelled to 443,519 in the province with 13,041 causalities.

Sindh

The number of infections has surged to 476,830 in the province, while the death toll has reached 7,626.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The confirmed cases have surged to 180,383 in the province with 5,862 casualties.

Balochistan

There are 33,507 confirmed cases while 360 patients have died from the infection so far.

AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan

There are 34,579 coronavirus cases in the AJK while the death toll has reached 742. On the other hand, there are 10,413 cases in GB with 186 coronavirus deaths.

Islamabad

There are 107,930 cases in the capital city while 960 people have lost their lives.

Sialkot: Police has rounded up around 120 suspects over the lynching of Sri Lankan factory manager, Priyantha Kumara Diyawadanage in Sialkot.

On Friday, a mob in Sialkot tortured a Sri Lankan national to death and set his body ablaze.

The heart wrenching incident occurred on Sialkot’s Wazirabad Road, where workers of private factory attacked their export manager and burnt his body.

The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against 800 to 900 unidentified people at Uggoki police station under sections of terrorism, attempt to murder, plot to murder, desecration of a human body and other sections.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was overseeing the investigation into “the horrific vigilante attack”, as he called it “a day of shame for Pakistan”. 

“Let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law,” Premier tweeted.

The horrific vigilante attack on factory in Sialkot & the burning alive of Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan. I am overseeing the investigations & let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 3, 2021

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed “deep concern” and “shock” over the incident— expressing confidence that Imran Khan would bring perpetrators to justice.  

A day after the violent mob, President Gotabaya, turned to twitter and wrote, “Deeply concerned by the incident in Sialkot, Pakistan”. 

He further added that Sri Lanka trusts that Imran Khan and the government of Pakistan will ensure justice is served and ensure the safety of the remaining Sri Lankan workers in the country.

Deeply concerned by the incident in Sialkot #Pakistan. #SriLanka trusts that PM @ImranKhanPTI and the Gvt. of Pakistan will ensure justice is served and ensure the safety of the remaining Sri Lankan workers in Pakistan.

— Gotabaya Rajapaksa (@GotabayaR) December 4, 2021

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Twitter, “Shocking to see the brutal and fatal attack on Priyantha Diyawadana by extremist mobs in Pakistan. My heart goes out to his wife and family”.

Shocking to see the brutal and fatal attack on Priyantha Diyawadana by extremist mobs in #Pakistan. My heart goes out to his wife and family. #SriLanka and her people are confident that PM @ImranKhanPTI will keep to his commitment to bring all those involved to justice.

— Mahinda Rajapaksa (@PresRajapaksa) December 4, 2021

On the other hand, up to 120 people have been arrested and conducted raids in over 200 areas of the city, Punjab Inspector-General (IG) Rao Sardar Ali Khan said.  

Several gruesome video clips shared on social media showed a mob beating the prone victim. Some clips showed his body set ablaze, as well as the overturned wreckage of what was said to be his car.  

Incident

As per preliminary investigation, a dispute emerged when the victim Priyantha Kumara directed employees to remove some stickers from the walls of the factory in the wake of foreigners’ visit.

The workers, allegedly, didn’t act on the order due to which, Priyantha came forward and removed it himself at 10:28am. 

Shortly after the heated argument, the factory owner reached the spot to resolve the issue. Following which the manager apologised for the misunderstanding on his part.  

The matter was reportedly considered settled and the factory workers had dispersed. However, some workers who held grudge, incited their colleagues to attack the manager.  

Within a few minutes, a mob formed and set on the victim within the premises of the unit, eventually killing him. 

His body was later dragged outside the factory and burned.

Police received a phone call at 11:28am about the incident and reached the site within 12 minutes.  

Moreover, police have obtained CCTV footage of the attack from 160 cameras installed at the site.   

Autopsy report 

According to the postmortem report of Priyantha Kumara, most of his body was burnt while his bones were also broken due to severe torture. 

The autopsy report confirmed a fractured skull and brain protrusion and he died of brain damage. Around 99% of the body of the manager was completely burnt. 

All the bones, including his arms and hip, were broken with the exception of one foot. 

Ankara: An alleged attack on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been foiled by the security officials in the city of Siirt, the Turkish Presidential office confirmed.

A small explosive device was reportedly attached to a car belonging to a police officer who was supposed to secure a rally attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday.

The bomb was affixed to the undercarriage of the officer’s private car and found before he left for the rally, Turkey media said.

The explosive was found on the officer’s vehicle in the province of Mardin, around 125 miles from the rally in the city of Siirt, the report said.

The officer had been assigned to the rally and was a member of the riot police.

A bomb disposal team removed the device without causing any injuries, the report said.

Security officials are investigating the incident.

Turkey has been battling the Kurdish PKK group in the area for decades.