To the boys of Sialkot..

Midway through their teenage years, Muneeb and Mughees were the unfortunate souls that were mercilessly beaten up publicly on the 15th of August by at least a dozen men. Their bodies, subjected to horrendous injuries, were then dragged across town. And at last they were hung, in the middle of the town for all to see. Their murderers showed not even a hint of remorse at the heinous crime they had just committed. 

Are we really that inhumane? I am extremely agonized, just by watching those clips on TV, I can’t even imagine what the people standing by were going through - Oh wait, they were all watching the show. It was like a circus is in town for one day only. They watched with eyes wide open and hearts tightly shut. Not only the town people watched, but the police also stood as mere bystanders and did not intervene.

Nobody deserves to die this death. Not even people who have done horrific crimes. We live in a civilized world and we cannot accept this. Our religion doesn’t teach us this; our culture doesn’t teach us this and most of all, humanity doesn’t teach us this! We are not a barbaric nation. I know I speak for the whole of my country. If we cannot be humane, the least we could do is be "good Muslims” and respect the holy month.

I am ashamed to be a part of such a brutal nation. I would be surprised if we ever get to see Mughees and Muneeb's case fought fairly and given justice. The culprits are still at large and the nation grieves over the continuous hardships it is facing. Hearing the minister's promises of hanging the culprits publicly sounds far-fetched. And who knows, the next time, everyone will be careful to avoid public places for beatings. We'll join face-book groups, click attending on the events of protests, tune in to watch the headlines every hour or so. And that's all we can do to show our support unless some official action isn't taken against those murderers.

These are one of the few cases that have come into the limelight, what about those we don’t even hear of. Can their families ever expect to be served justice? It’s already been more than a week now, so another week will pass by, then a month and then a year and then several years. Has this country ever served justice? Not in my 18 years. Then why will it now? We shall all sit and watch the show.. After all it’s every man for himself, isn’t it?