Three Pakistani nationals were killed in Britain’s second largest city on Wednesday while protecting their community from rioters and looters, British police said. The three were struck by a car that mounted a pavement on Dudley Road on Wednesday morning.
According to Birmingham police, the men had been drawn into an argument with looters as they defended a mosque and businesses in Wilson Green from rioters. Police said they had arrested a man and launched a murder inquiry after the incident, which happened at around 1am. They asked for witnesses to come forward and said forensics would examine the vehicle that had run over the men, which had been seized. Around 80 bystanders were said to have witnessed the incident.
Two of the victims, identified as Haroon Hussain (32) and Shahzad Hussain (30), brothers who hailed from Gujar Khan, were pronounced dead on the scene, while the third man identified as Mansoor Ali, 22, died in hospital. He also hailed from Gujar Khan. Paramedics confirmed that all three Pakistanis had been hit by a car. An angry crowd from the Asian community later converged outside the City Hospital in Birmingham.
“They lost their lives for other people, doing the job of the police,” Mohammed Shakiel said. Several cars drove past the group as it was guarding the stores and the occupants shouted abuse before one vehicle returned and mounted the pavement at “tremendous speed” and hit the men, throwing them into the air, Shakiel added.
SICKNESS: British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed grief at the death of the three British Pakistanis at the hands of rioters. He said a “fightback” was underway as he authorised police to use water cannon for the first time on the mainland. Cameron said there was a “sickness” in British society. “We needed a fightback and a fightback is underway,” Cameron told a news conference outside 10 Downing Street.
“We now have in place contingency plans for water cannon to be available at 24 hours’ notice,” Cameron said, adding that police had already been authorised to use plastic baton rounds against rioters.
VIOLENT INCIDENTS: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan, meanwhile, called upon the British Pakistani community to immediately report to the police and the high commission or the nearest consulate if they faced any incident of violence.
MINISTER STUCK: Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports and Culture Minister Syed Aqil Shah was reportedly stuck in the riots in London. Shah had gone to London on a private visit to represent Pakistan in a meeting on the Olympic Games.
Britain riots claim lives of 3 Pakistanis
