After the discovery of Qasim Siddiques school bag, allegedly from the runway of Allama Iqbal Airport, it would no more be possible to hush up the death of the school boy who reportedly died after falling from a plane flying from Lahore to Dubai. While circumstantial evidence had pointed to the fall from the plane being the cause of death, airport authorities continued to remain in a state of denial all along. Efforts were in fact made to prove that the boy might have been murdered and his body dumped on the rooftop of the house where it was found. Despite reports that a loud thud was heard by some of the residents of a neighbourhood on the flying path of the plane a few minutes after it took off, no attempt was made to find possible finger prints on the planes landing gear or the sign of any grease on the boys body.
There is a need for a thorough enquiry into the affair because of its serious ramifications. That the boy managed to reach the plane indicates that the security system at one of the countrys busiest airports is highly defective. Entering the high security area guarded by several agencies, reaching the plane and entering the wheel well might not have been possible without inside help. If a schoolboy could manage this, it would be much easier for a well-trained terrorist who could kill a planeload of travelers. If the story is found out to be correct, heads must roll. As the fish starts rotting from the head, it wont do punishing only a handful of the lower staff.
The incident is yet another manifestation of a serious malaise the country suffers from. The rampant poverty and unemployment are forcing hundreds of youth to seek entry into other countries even at the cost of their lives. Meanwhile, unscrupulous elements make money out of their misery. Jobless young people travel in overloaded and rickety launches only to be drowned during the attempt. Some suffocate inside containers; others are shot dead while illegally crossing another countrys border. Thousands languish in foreign jails. While the civilian and military rulers take pride in their respective performances none really seems to care for the suffering that forces several like Qasim Siddique every year to venture out and die.
