The heart rending killings being reported in Karachi and the latest body bag of a young school child in Faisalabad shows that the disease is spreading in Punjab also. During the Zia years public hanging was done in full display of public in the famous Puppoo murder case of a young boy. As a consequence abduction for ransom had stopped afterwards. Even the Holy Quran admonishes that a party of Muslims should witness the penalty being administered so that the people may learn a lesson about the end of evil persons that indulge in heinous crimes. If we punish the criminals secretly away from public eye the sobering effect on the general population cannot be produced. It is about time that public hanging of murderers who spread Fasad fil Ardh may be introduced as per injunctions of Islam to put fear of Allah in the minds of hardened criminals. DR. MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI, Lahore, August 25.