There are some incidents that are so heinous and reprehensible that they remain etched in memory forever. The mob torture and lynching of two brothers in Sialkot in 2010 was one such incident that shocked the nation due to the extremes of violence that citizens can be capable of. The incident that occurred on Friday, also in Sialkot, will also be remembered as one of the most appalling, abominable episodes to happen in the history of the country.

Government representatives have condemned the incident in the harshest terms. Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister on Information Hassan Khawar and Punjab IG Rao Sardar Ali Khan, Special Representative for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi condemned the lynching on “behalf of all ulemas” and said that it had “defaced Islam”.

Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari has also called for strict accountability for the culprits. The government is trying to do damage control in foreign relations, saying the Sri Lankan embassy would be issued an apology. The investigation must take place, using all forensics and video evidence available to ensure everyone involved in this travesty is held to account. The government must not repeat the mistakes it made in the Mashal Khan lynching, where it took years to hold those involved in the mob to be sentenced, with a lot of the culprits being let off.

However, things have escalated far beyond just mere investigation and conviction. This is not just a one-off criminal action—this is terrorism that has now become an occurrence in our society, that has spread its roots in every class of society.

It has taken years of neglecting the roots of extremism ideology and going soft on the perpetrators who encourage vigilante justice, that now ordinary people, like those factory workers in Sialkot, felt entitled to challenge the writ of the state. This is an endemic problem, one of mindsets and passing judgement without proof. It needs a comprehensive state-level reaction.