Pakistanis angry over failure of police to save three victims

BIRMINGHAM: British Pakistanis have criticised the police and the emergency response services for failing to reach on time to help the three British Pakistani men who were hit by a carload of looters and were killed.
They have said that the response of the emergency services was appalling and the riot units dispatched to the scene actually contributed to the deaths of the youth by preventing the medical response from arriving at the scene.
Haroon Jahan, 21, and two brothers, Abdul Musavir, 31, and Shahzad Ali, 30, were struck by a car travelling at high speed in the early hours of Wednesday morning. They were patrolling Dudley Road throughout Tuesday night after the rioters attacked many Pakistani businesses and looted them.
Speaking to The News, the local community said the failure of police to protect them and help them in the aftermath of the attack was alarming.
The eldest brother of the two murdered youth Abdul Qadoos told The News that the family’s world had fallen apart at the tragic death of the two brothers. “They were the centre of our lives, of our family and friends. Three of us were like friends and got on so well but I have been robbed. My father and mother are just unable to even speak. Now I fear for their health,” he said.
Qudoos said his two brothers were well liked in the area and the local community — of all backgrounds and faiths — counted on them for help. The police, he blamed, did nothing to help the local community and the locals were left on their own.
He said when the British Pakistanis boys were run over by the suspected looters, one of who is under arrest at a West Midlands police station, the emergency medical response, which arrived nearly an hour late, was stopped by the riot vehicles.
Raja Kamran Ishtiaq, leader of the British Pakistani Youth Council, appealed to British Pakistanis, especially the youth, to remain calm and not take law into their hands. He said the eyes of the whole country were on Pakistanis and there were elements who would exploit the reaction of the Pakistanis.
He reminded that the scars of the local riots of 2005 were still fresh. In 2005 in the inner Birmingham city suburb of Lozells had exploded in extreme violence for two days when blacks and Asians fought pitched battles.
A false rumour that a Black girl was raped by a Pakistani businessman after she was found his shoplifting started the riots. Kamran said the local communities were getting along well now and didn’t need the repeat of the inter-ethnic and racial angle to the violence.
“The whole community must work together not only to protect our homes, mosques and businesses but also help the communities in general in pulling together. If Pakistani youth are involved, we will get all the negative headlines that are easy to come by in this country when it’s about Pakistan and Pakistanis,” cautioned the youth leader.
Kabir Khan, a local community leader, said the police needed to rethink about their policies and warned that if the families were not provided justice things could boil over which the local Asian or other communities didn’t need.
Pakistanis said they (three Pakistanis) died in the service of the nation because the law enforcement agencies had failed in their duty. The local imam while speaking to The News questioned why the British prime minister had not visited the families. They feared that if justice was not provided to the family, the swelling anger amongst the Pakistani and Asian communities will not be contained.