WHAT happened in Sialkot is an example of brutality at its peak. Even treating a criminal this way can't be justified let alone youth at its prime. Why do we have a justice system to begin with if we are to take upon ourselves the act of judging and sentencing other fellow beings?

No court of law, no religion and no culture permits such humiliation. I offer my deepest condolence to the family of the two young men who were beastly lynched in the middle of the day by a mob with people and policemen likewise as spectators and, to my utmost horror, where some people actually took out cellphones and made a video.

Can I have the liberty of questioning the authorities when will justice be brought to the family of the deceased? Now that we have everything on tape and TV channels can provide the police with evidence, will it still take forever to catch the people who did this? Will the police officials only be sacked, is that it?

Many a time in previous years I have been ashamed by our politicians and other officials but on this occasion I am ashamed of ourselves as a nation! This is how we practise Islam, by killing pious people for no reason in the holy month of Ramazan, and not a single person has the guts to stand up and put an end to it.

SUMAIYA ZAIDI
Pittsburgh, USA

(II)

SOMEBODY shared a video footage with me, of the brutal killings of two young boys from Sialkot who were first blamed to be thieves/robbers and then tortured and beaten with sticks until they died. Their death was not the end, but just a preamble of the brutality which was yet to come.

Their corpses were later on hung upside down in a chowk in front of hundreds of people watching as if it were somebody pulling off a brave stunt for their entertainment. Sadly, this was still not the end.

Their soulless bodies were beaten again as to satisfy the mob's beastly instincts and then they were taken down. Now, it was time for the whole of Sialkot to witness the reprehensible, yet as some felt, displayable act. They were loaded on a truck and put on to display for the whole city.

Are we no longer humans? If freedom means doing whatever one pleases to do without even a hint of fear or remorse, then we ought to be slaves.

We all deserve to die, either with floods, earthquakes, and even bombs. We are a bunch of extremists. We all ought to die, but certainly not the way those two kids did.

AMMAR REHMAN
Lahore

(III)

I AM sure the heart of every normal human being bled at the murder of two boys in front of more than 10 police officials in Sialkot. My heart really cries out for the heartless and insane attitude of the law enforcers and the general public who witnessed the cruel incident without a protest.

All those who witnessed the physical brutality on those boys should have thought that had they been their own child, what would have they done at the spot?

I wonder what is wrong with the people of our country whose hearts can bear to see or do such criminal acts. The video that has been shown on the media reflects the vindictive mindset of those who preferred to capture the scenes live, instead of saving their lives on humanitarian grounds.

Can anyone imagine the feelings of the parents who lost their loved ones without an iota of fault?

Justice must be done because tomorrow this can happen to anybody. So it's time to wake up.

QAZI NAZIM NAEEM
Hyderabad