Video Of Lynch Mob Killing Two Teenage Brothers Sparks Mass Demonstrations Across Pakistan

From the Daily Mail (UK):

A horrifying video of a crowd watching a mob beat two teenage brothers to death has sparked mass demonstrations in Pakistan.

The video, broadcast on Pakistani news channels, shows a lynch mob taking turns to savagely beat the two boys with sticks, drawing blood from them before dragging and hanging their dead bodies from a nearby pole.

But perhaps just as shocking is that none of the dozens of people and police watching tried to stop the vicious attack.

It is now thought the boys, who were on their way to play cricket in Sialkot, an eastern Punjab province, may have been mistaken for robbers by the group who decided to deliver brutal justice for their supposed crime last Sunday.

The scenes have outraged Pakistanis, some who are questioning how their society could passively watch the shocking killings without intervening.

The News, an English-language daily newspaper, wrote: 'Is this what we are? Savages? So utterly bereft of a speck of humanity that a crowd of ordinary men are passive spectators to public murder?'

The government has responded to the attack after civic groups condemned the killings and youths held demonstrations.

As details have emerged authorities appear increasingly confident the two boys - Moiz Butt, 17, and his brother Muneeb, 15 - were innocent.

The two went to play cricket after praying and eating breakfast, carrying a bag with them containing game equipment, said Mujahid Sherdil, a top government official in the district.

They were sons of a middle-class man who deals in fabric for soccer balls. Moiz was honoured with the title 'Hafiz' for having memorized the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

An armed robbery had taken place in the vicinity of the cricket field so residents were on alert and police were nearby.

When the boys appeared with a bag they were thought to be the robbers Mr Sherdil said.

He added, however, that more information was still being sought.

The boys were believed to have been in fights over the past few days for the right to play on the cricket ground, which was about a mile from their home.

Stations showing the video blurred out some of the more graphic images of the boys' bloodied bodies, but several faces in the crowd are clearly identifiable, including several police officers in uniform who watched.

Punjab province Police Chief Tariq Saleem said the government has ordered two separate inquiries into the killings.

'This incident is highly condemnable, especially in the police presence,' Saleem said after visiting the boys' family. 'All accused, including police, will be arrested soon....'

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