14 arrested in Sialkot lynching case

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that 14 people including four policemen have been held in the brutal public killing of two brothers in Sialkot.

Addressing the media in Sialkot, Malik said the culprits involved in the heinous crime would be duly punished. He appealed to the citizens of Sialkot to come forward and provide any information they had regarding the incident. He added that authorities have compiled a list of names of those under investigation and the federal government will be providing support in terms of intelligence and logistics as investigations continue.

Strike announced

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaqat Baloch also visited the family of the two brothers who were beaten to death by a mob in Sialkot. He said the party has announced a nationwide strike on Friday against this atrocity.

Updated from print edition (below).

Prime suspect SHO Rana Ilyas escapes from custody

The prime accused in the lynching of two brothers in Sialkot, SHO Rana Ilyas, managed to evade custody on Saturday and is currently at large. Ilyas, who fled from the office of the DSP Sialkot, was brought to the office so that he could be produced before a court for a judicial remand.  The District Coordination Officer (DCO) Sialkot, Mujahid Sher Dil, has confirmed that the lynched youths had no criminal record. Sher Dil held the Sialkot police responsible for the incident as police officials witnessed the whole incident as silent spectators.

Police claimed to have arrested two police officers and five others who were present at the time the two brothers were beaten to death in public. Police contingents also stepped up efforts to apprehend six other officers who witnessed the murder but made little attempt to stop the mob.