Sialkot Killings - Modern Day Lynching

Wikipedia defines 'lynching' as an act of "extrajudicial punishment carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake and shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people, however large or small. It is related to other means of social control that arise in communities, such as charivari, riding the rail, and tarring and feathering. Lynchings were more frequent in times of social and economic tension, and often were means by the politically dominant population to oppress social challengers".

Lynching is a phenomenon that was not very popular in Pakistan until a few years ago. In fact, very few people even knew that such a word existed, let alone know what it meant. The concept of extrajudicial killings were probably introduced to our society by the Taliban when they released videos of them slaughtering or shooting their captives.

In May 2009, people in Karachi burned alive three men they called robbers. Later, conflicting news reports came in... some saying that the killed men were really robbers and some saying that they were not and were wrongly accused of  robbery by a person who had held a grudge against them for a petty issue that had happened quite some time ago.

Whatever the reality about their innocence or guilt, the truth is that three men had lost their lives in a manner that can never be justified, whatever their crime. No one deserves to die like that. Anyone who commits a crime must be brought to justice through the judicial and penal systems enforced in the state. No one has the right to decide if a person whom someone is accusing is really guilty or not. That is a job best left for the police and punishing the guilty is the job of the judiciary.

On August 15, 2010, two teenagers were killed by a mob in the village Buttar On Daska Road, Sialkot. The two brothers were riding past the village on their motorcycle when they saw that the villagers had gathered and were shouting, clearly angry. The villagers were angry because there had been a robbery earlier and the robbers had shot a man dead. The victim had been married just 11 months ago. The robbers had also shot and injured three other people before fleeing the village.

The elder brother of the slain man was in the center of the gathering, lamenting his loss. He saw the two brothers on the outer circle of the gathering and remembered that they had earlier had a row with his brother during a cricket match. He pointed at them and accused them of killing his brother. The villagers immediately flung into action. They had finally found someone to vent their anger on. They threw the two teenagers on the ground and started attacking them with sticks, iron rods and bricks.

The brothers - Hafiz Mughees Sajjad (19) and Muneeb Sajjad (17) - did not even have the chance to speak for themselves. They were outnumbered. Some people came forward to their rescue, telling the mob that they knew the two brothers and that they were not robbers, but the villagers turned on them too, beating them until they fled or promised not to intervene again.The villagers formed a circle around their victims and clubbed them for an excruciating two hours. The younger brother lasted only 10 minutes, but the elder Mughees endured the torture for TWO HOURS. The video of the last minutes of the two young men is so horrifying, it cannot be seen completely without one's heart leaping into the throat. A reporter of Dunya News who had reached the scene as soon as he heard of the lynching and had recorded the incident on camera said he could not sleep for three days and nights after witnessing the brutal killing of the two young men.

The more horrifying detail is that the incident happened close to the office of the rescue services. The rescuers did not rush to the aid of the victims... instead, the footage shows them standing aside and watching the killing in silence. A rescue worker is even shown helping the assailants and tying down the victims. The police were called after the mob had captured the two teens and had started beating them, but they came 45 minutes late. The even more appalling fact is that even when the police did arrive, their presence was no better than that of a spectator. In fact, people claim and video footage confirms that the local Station House Officer (SHO) and his constables had formed a protective circle around the scene, preventing anyone from intervening. They watched in silence as the two young men were beaten to their deaths.

However, the ordeal and humiliation of the two brothers did not end with their deaths. The villagers dragged the bodies with the ropes (that a rescue worker had tied on their feet) to a nearby overhead water tank. The bodies were hung upside down on the pillars of the water tank. The beating did not stop there either.

The district police officer (DPO) was also at the scene and can be seen encouraging and praising those who were beating the two teenagers. After their deaths, he 'arranged' for the bodies to be taken to the district morgue. The 'arrangement' was that the bodies were dumped on a tractor trolley with their bashed and severely swollen heads hanging behind for everyone to see. When the trolley reached its destination, the bodies were literally thrown off it face first in the dirt and turned over again so that the people there could see the faces.

Imagine the ordeal and the trauma that the family of the two brothers had gone through that day. The two men were the only sons of the family. Their sister is the youngest of the three siblings. Imagine what their parents had to witness when the bodies arrived for the funeral. I can hear the mother's cries and feel the father's heartache when they would have seen what had remained of the faces of their sons.

In the end, we can only ask why such an incident occurred in the first place? If the villagers did find it justified to beat the robbers up, why did they not stop at some time? People all over the world want to keep their children away from graphic violence, why then did the villagers encourage their young ones to step up and land some blows on the two hapless souls? Has the modern society become so insensitive to the pain and suffering of others that we can no longer feel the need to stop people from causing someone pain... even when we see them being tortured and bled to death? Didn't the villagers feel anything seeing the two men die in front of their eyes? How and why were the villagers laughing in the video when the bodies were being hanged on the water tank pillars?

And in the end... these questions may be considered blasphemous, but I don't care and I ask... why did God allow this to happen? Why did He think the two men deserved the pain and suffering that they had to endure? Why did they have to go through the ordeal for TWO HOURS? Couldn't God have let them die earlier? If the existence of every living being really does have some purpose to it and if there is a Divine Plan on which the world is running, was this part of the plan? If yes, WHY?

I have no answer to these questions, but I hope someone does.

Human Billboards

On London's busiest shopping streets they stand, day in and day out, vying for the attention of passers-by. But new legislation has made finding work more difficult for mobile advertisers. Our reporter Kelly Cregg, went to central London to find out who the people behind the billboards really are.

Made by: Niklas Fagerström, Kelly Cregg and Saad Mustafa, for an MA course in International Journalism at City University London.

WTF STORY: Over 5000 go naked at Sydney Opera House‎

More than 5,000 people turned up at the Sydney Opera House today to get naked in the name of art.
Braving an early morning chill they shed their clothes, abandoned any embarrassment, and posed naked for renowned American nudist photographer Spencer Tunick. 
Mr Tunick, 43, who has taken nude crowd pictures all around the world, said the project was about sending a positive message that no one should shun other people.

'Gay men and women lay naked next to their straight neighbours and this delivered a very strong message to the world that Australians embrace a free and equal society,' he said.

The organisers had only expected about half the number of people to turn up.   
'We thought we'd get a couple of thousand people turning up - but to get 5,200 is just amazing,' said one of Mr Tunick's assistants.
As the sun rose over the harbour, Mr Tunick instructed his subjects to adopt a number of poses, from standing, lying, and even embracing cheek to cheek.
'I want all couples to embrace and kiss, all friends to kiss and all strangers to, well, do whatever they want,' said the photographer.
Anna Bruce, 28, who signed up for the photo shoot with a friend, described the event as a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity.

People came in all shapes and sizes and one heavily pregnant woman even postponed the birth of her twins so she could take part

'It was easier than I expected. It was really normal - there was no problem in getting our kit off. I'd say the hardest part was the embracing poses.'

Mr Tunick maintains his work is not about exhibitionism or eroticism but instead he reveals the vulnerability of life in a rough city landscape

Student Art Rush admitted that he was expecting old people and nudists to turn up 'but everyone arrived from all over the place.
'It's a great adrenalin rush and I'll never get a chance to do anything like this again. It's not worth being inhibited.
'It doesn't feel sexual - more like a feeling of being tribal, a gathering of humanity.'
The artist said today’s installation 'went well'.
'I’m just so lucky to be able to work with so many naked gay, straight and transgender people,' he said.
This is Mr Tunick's first installation in Australia following projects in the U.S., Brazil, France, England, Spain, Switzerland, Holland and Austria.
The artist has been documenting the nude figure in public through photography and video since 1992.
His largest work to date involved 18,000 people posing in Mexico City in 2007.
He has said the title of the work refers to the sameness of individuals, regardless of their sexual preferences.
Mr Tunick maintains his work is not about exhibitionism or eroticism but instead he reveals the vulnerability of life in a rough city landscape.
However sometimes authorities have disagreed, particularly in the U.S., where Tunick has been arrested seven times.

Barefoot Running

A package where I was involved in the camera work and editing. This is the lead-in.



Searching for the perfect pair of jogging shoes might be a waste of time.

Instead, barefoot running claims to be a healthier and more efficient way to run.

The runners strike the ground with the front of their foot rather than the heel, improving balance and speed.

Many are joining the trend, but experts disagree on the risks.

Niklas Fagerström has more.

Is a masters degree really worth it ?

Here's the first television package for this term, there's more great stuff to come.

Enlightenment

I mentioned the legal director's recent obsession with Facebook in my previous post -- but all that faded away after I read this hilarious status update.

SOMEONE (you can probably guess) is celebrating a year in the heart of news!

It wouldn't have been so bad if he'd referred to just 'news', but the 'heart' of news makes the whole thing more bizarre. It's true that the whole operation (read party) has been running for a year now but I'm not entirely sure whether either of you loyal employees would even call it news. And I believe that's a pre-requisite for being at the 'heart' of news.

But since all the other workers there are so damn intelligent (that they tend to fool even themselves) lets now look at the statement in a new light -- for argument sake. The publisher of this comment might be referring to his own ability as the 'heart' of news, that too while working in the dead of night. Sounds ridiculous either way.

The First Blog

I am sure most of you may have understood what I tried to express from the blog’s title. I regret to post my blog pretty late as you now a ticker guy is always busy and that too in the morning shift with some noisy stuff. I really like this blog’s title and have lots of Khalara in my mind which, I have finally decided, to bring in black and white.
I hope this blog will bring some positive changes and hope is the final word. I will start writing regular blogs after 15th as I am still trying to adjust in the morning shift and hoping to get it changed no matter whether its evening or night. One thing I would to suggest is that we should avoid using our real names in blogs and instead use nick names. It’s just a proposal and if three bloggers out of four or even two agree to it then we can go ahead, however, the nick names should only be Khalara specific.

Finally !

I think it's appropriate for the first post to be about our 'beloved' legal director, who has proved elusive during the past few months. He lives through his facebook account where he irritatingly records the smallest details in his status. And then he tries to put up imposing pictures (like the one I have posted on MK) which tend to amuse more than they impose.

The legal guru's blog too has taken off and so it is with great regret that I have to say -- we may not hear from him again. Some interesting points were raised about the blog in question in MK's editorial meeting last month -- but it's best to keep those comments to ourselves.

Anyway, MK is history and Khalara is a new project. All that really depends upon Junaid and his computer. As long as Junaid stops wrecking his computer by watching excessive porn and we have an actual site we might be able to get started, otherwise the editorial team (excluding me of course) will have to take serious physical action -- which probably won't be pretty to watch. But lets hope things are sorted out soon. For now guys just start posting stuff here, unless you have developed a Hira-like enthusiasm for working at 24/7 (I hope not).

Hi

Yo dudes!

I'm sorry this blog took so long and the website is still in the pipeline. I've had some unforeseen problems with my computer at home ( you know what little stuff we can do at the office), anyway... my computer is finally 'back on its feet' :) and I hope that things will go a bit faster now.

The website will come into existence within a week now, insha-Allah!

So here we go...