The Sri Lankan Army has begun an investigation into social media posts showing soldiers forcing Muslims to kneel in the streets as a punishment for flouting lockdown rules.
The armed troops ordered minority Muslim civilians to raise their hands in the air while kneeling on a road in the town of Eravur, about 300 kilometres east of the capital Colombo, according to reports.
The local residents said they considered the order to be degrading and humiliating, while officials acknowledged that troops had no power to mete out such punishments to anyone, especially minorities.
The victims were on their way to two restaurants to buy food.
“An initial Military Police investigation has already commenced after certain photos went viral depicting an alleged harassment in the Eravur area,” the army said in a statement.
It said the officer in charge had been removed and the soldiers involved ordered to leave the town.
“The army will adopt the strictest disciplinary action against all errant army personnel,” the military added, in a rare display of willingness to investigate its own.
Sri Lanka is under a month-long lockdown to contain a third wave of coronavirus infections.
The number of deaths from the virus has increased more than fourfold to 2,531 since the start of the wave in mid-April.
The military, which is facing allegations of war crimes in a decades-long Tamil separatist war that ended in 2009, has been deployed to help police and health authorities enforce virus restrictions.
Successive governments have denied that troops killed around 40,000 civilians in the final stages of the separatist war, which claimed more than 100,000 lives in total between 1972 and 2009.
Pakistani rupee inches up against US dollar in the open market on 28 March, 2024.
In the open market, the US dollar was being quoted at 278.4 for buying and 281.4 for selling.
Euro moves down to 299.75 for buying and 302.75 for selling while British Pound hovers around 353.75 for buying, and 357.25 for selling.
UAE Dirham AED remains stable at 75.55 whereas the Saudi Riyal saw minor increase, with new rates at 73.70.
Currency | Symbol | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|---|
US Dollar | USD | 278.4 | 281.4 |
Euro | EUR | 299.75 | 302.75 |
UK Pound Sterling | GBP | 353.75 | 357.25 |
U.A.E Dirham | AED | 75.55 | 76.3 |
Saudi Riyal | SAR | 73.7 | 74.4 |
Australian Dollar | AUD | 182.9 | 184.7 |
Bahrain Dinar | BHD | 739.61 | 747.61 |
Canadian Dollar | CAD | 204.25 | 206.45 |
China Yuan | CNY | 38.74 | 39.14 |
Danish Krone | DKK | 40.30 | 40.70 |
Hong Kong Dollar | HKD | 35.55 | 35.9 |
Indian Rupee | INR | 3.33 | 3.44 |
Japanese Yen | JPY | 1.86 | 1.94 |
Kuwaiti Dinar | KWD | 901.14 | 910.14 |
Malaysian Ringgit | MYR | 59.25 | 59.85 |
New Zealand Dollar | NZD | 168.56 | 170.56 |
Norwegians Krone | NOK | 26.19 | 26.49 |
Omani Riyal | OMR | 724.36 | 732.36 |
Qatari Riyal | QAR | 76.57 | 77.27 |
Singapore Dollar | SGD | 206.25 | 208.25 |
Swedish Korona | SEK | 26.89 | 27.19 |
Swiss Franc | CHF | 313.78 | 316.28 |
Thai Bhat | THB | 7.76 | 7.91 |
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