ISLAMABAD: The remains of Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara, who was lynched in the northeastern Pakistani city of Sialkot last week, were flown to Colombo from Lahore via a SriLankan Airlines flight on Monday, Pakistani officials said. 

A Muslim mob on Friday attacked and killed Sri Lankan Priyantha Kumara and burned his body publicly over allegations he had committed blasphemy in the northeastern city of Sialkot. 

Blasphemy is considered a deeply sensitive issue in Pakistan, and carries the death penalty. International and domestic rights groups say accusations of blasphemy have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores. 

Kumara's remains were transported from Lahore to Colombo via SriLankan Airlines flight UL-186 at 12:30pm on Monday, in the presence of Pakistani and Sri Lankan officials. 

"On the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan, I am at the airport to send mortal remains of Priyantha Kumara to Sri Lanka with complete state protocol," Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, special representative of the Pakistani PM on religious harmony, told Arab News. 

Ashrafi vowed that all perpetrators of the heinous crime would be brought to justice. "PM Khan is himself overseeing all developments in the investigation. It is not a religious matter, but the people who were involved used not only religion but defamed it too." 

Pakistan's acting high commissioner Tanvir Ahmed will be at the Colombo airport along with Sri Lankan officials to receive Kumara's remains, according to the Pakistani high commission in Colombo. 

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said what happened in Sialkot should not have happened, describing the lynching as a "painful" tragedy. 

"No society allows such incidents. The Sialkot incident is under investigation and 118 people have been arrested," he said in a statement on Monday. 

"Sri Lankan government is satisfied with the steps taken by Pakistani government after the incident and wants those responsible to be punished. We are also trying to bring those responsible to justice."  

Qureshi said both the government and the society had a role to play in stopping such extremism.