Pakistan serial killer ‘wanted to teach gays a lesson’



LAHORE // Short in stature and softly spoken, Muhammed Ejaz was probably destined for a life of relative anonymity — until he began killing homosexual men he met online.

The 28-year-old father-of-two was arrested last week and confessed to three brutal murders, saying he wanted to send out a message about the “evils” of homosexuality, though police insist he had sex with his victims first.

The killings have sent shock waves through the underground gay community of the eastern city of Lahore, which fears the Pakistani paramedic could be lionised as a hero in a conservative society where homosexuality is stigmatised and sodomy is punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

In an interview from his prison cell Sunday night, Ejaz, who sported a neat trimmed beard and was kept shackled, expressed remorse over the killings but said he was acting to stop wrongdoing.

“My way was wrong. It is tragic that the families have lost their relatives but they were spreading evil in society and I had to stop it,” said Ejaz, who is due to appear in court on Monday.

“I wanted to warn them to stay away from this evil.”

The killings happened in March and April, according to police officer Asad Sarfraz, who headed the investigation. The victims were a middle-aged retired army Major and two other men, both in their twenties.

All three were found with their necks broken and had been sedated.

After examining their mobile phone call logs, police were able to identify Ejaz’s number and found another former lover whom they used as a honey trap to lure him to a meeting a week ago, where they arrested him.

Ejaz, who was married in 2011, said his family knew nothing of what he had done and insisted that he was not gay himself.

“I started going on Manjam two months ago using my mobile phone, and found that the gays are everywhere in Lahore,” he said, referring to a popular social networking website.

“They are spreading evil and transmitting diseases. They cannot control themselves,” he added.

Ejaz said he was the victim of sexual abuse by an older boy when he was around 10 and had led a deeply unhappy childhood.

“I have hated them ever since what happened to me,” he said.

With sex outside marriage both illegal and deeply frowned upon, same-sex partners are generally able to avoid the same level of scrutiny unmarried heterosexual couples come under.

With the case due to be heard in court on Monday, one member of Pakistan’s gay community said he was worried Ejaz could be hailed as a hero by conservatives.

“The problem is that paedophilia and homosexuality are often conflated, so people think eradicating homosexuality means eradicating child abuse,” he said.

Ejaz had been a sexually active member of the gay community for several months, the man claimed.

“It seems he was motivated by self-hatred and internalised homophobia,” he said. “The worry is — will it inspire others to do the same?”

* Agence France-Presse

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  • Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases 
  •  About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime 
  • By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million 
  • 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries 
  • This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030 
  • At least one third of common cancers are preventable 
  • Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers 
  • Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
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  • The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion

   

Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier

ICC Academy, November 22-28

UAE fixtures
Nov 22, v Malaysia
Nov 23, v Hong Kong
Nov 25, v Bhutan
Nov 26, v Kuwait
Nov 28, v Nepal

ICC T20I rankings
14. Nepal
17. UAE
25. Hong Kong
34. Kuwait
35. Malaysia
44. Bhutan 

UAE squad
Chaya Mughal (captain), Natasha Cherriath, Samaira Dharnidharka, Kavisha Egodage, Mahika Gaur, Priyanjali Jain, Suraksha Kotte, Vaishnave Mahesh, Judit Peter, Esha Rohit, Theertha Satish, Chamani Seneviratne, Khushi Sharma, Subha Venkataraman

DMZ facts
  • The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
  • It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
  • The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
  • It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
  • Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
  • Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
  • Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012. 
  • Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).

Second leg

Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm

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Director:Michael Lehmann

Stars:Kristen Bell

Rating: 1/5

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
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Helen Cullen, Graydon House 

ICC T20 Rankings

1. India - 270 ranking points

 

2. England - 265 points

 

3. Pakistan - 261 points

 

4. South Africa - 253 points

 

5. Australia - 251 points 

 

6. New Zealand - 250 points

 

7. West Indies - 240 points

 

8. Bangladesh - 233 points

 

9. Sri Lanka - 230 points

 

10. Afghanistan - 226 points

 
MATCH INFO

Liverpool 4 (Salah (pen 4, 33', & pen 88', Van Dijk (20')

Leeds United 3 (Harrison 12', Bamford 30', Klich 66')

Man of the match Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

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Isle of Dogs

Director: Wes Anderson

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Profile of Whizkey

Date founded: 04 November 2017

Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani

Based: Dubai, UAE

Number of employees: 10

Sector: AI, software

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Rating: 1/5

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1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

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