ON Aug 15 two brothers, Hafiz Moghees (aged 17) and Muneeb (aged 15) were beaten to death by a savage and unruly mob. This merciless attack went on for hours. What might have been their crime? One is compelled to ask after watching this horrid video now being aired on the media. The fact is that they had not committed any crime, they just happened to pass by the wrong place at the wrong time. They were innocent.

At 6.30am both Moghees and Muneeb were on a motorcycle riding through a juncture where they saw a crowd shouting in anger against dacoits that had killed one person and injured three others in a firing incident.

Eyewitnesses have said that the elder brother of the deceased person (killed by firing) accused the brothers on the motorcycle of having some connection with the dacoits; apparently they had had a spat over a cricket match a few days back.

Upon accusation the crowd soon turned into a mob unleashing fury on these two innocent brothers, without any question or an iota of sanity.

What is more shocking is that these two brothers happened to hail from a very respectable and pious family. One of the brothers was in fact a Hafiz - i - Quran, who was leading Taraawi prayers at a local mosque.

After both were killed, their bodies were hung upside down and beaten further, in front of onlookers eager to catch a glimpse of the 'tamasha'. If that wasn't enough, their bodies were paraded on a back of a trolley through the town.

Moreover, this incident presents to us for yet another time the issue of law and order. Everything that was happening to these brothers happened under the watch of the Sialkot police. The police, in fact, made a cordon around the mob to support them and to let them continue the assault. The bodies were later hung next to the headquarters of Rescue 1122. Let's suppose for a moment that the brothers were actual dacoits. Even then it gives no right to take their lives. Beat them severely if you must, but then hand them over to the law enforcers, and let justice take its course.

It is unfortunate that in over 60 years we have not been able to form stable law and order and produce guardians of the law.

Thirdly, as much as making videos or taking snaps was good to bring this incident to light, one must question the intent of the people capturing the events unfolding. As a nation it would be safe to say that we are all spectators that would stare and ogle at a 'tamasha' in amazement or agony, and yet do nothing about it.

Lastly, it needs to be highlighted that in this video children under the age of 10 were seen taking part in this brutal act. What sort of morals, ethics and good practice are we passing to the next generation? To that child, what he was doing was right, because all the others were encouraging him on. Those children are bound to do it again, unless educated otherwise.

For the parents of those brothers, it was a dreadful day, leaving us to only imagine their sorrow. One can say that the brothers' time had come, basing the notion on fate. However, we can learn from what fate teaches us! Because had someone done something about it, they wouldn't have had such a vehement death!

Stop. Think. And start highlighting the bad that runs deep in our society, and carefully educate others around you. And for God's sake, next time you are near an incident like this, muster up the courage to stop it.

DANISH FARID KHAN
Via email