LAHORE – Raymond Davis’s release on Wednesday left the citizens of the provincial metropolis reeling with many questions. The locals showed anger and disappointment over the court’s order to release Davis, a murderer of two Pakistanis, after the victims’ families settled for blood money.
Pakistan Today took a survey regarding Davis’ release, and below are some of the comments received from interviews of a cross-section of society. Shahnaz, a resident of Old Anarkali, says that it was unfortunate that he had been set free. “I do not like the fact that Davis has been set free after what he has done. He should be treated as Pakistanis are treated in the US,” she says.
Arshad from Lahore Cantt says that the release has been a ‘gross injustice’ with Pakistan. “First of all they are taking the side of a non-Muslim. But what can we do? We can only follow the government because we are essentially weak and vulnerable and are crushed between unemployment and poverty,” he says. Mrs Waqas, a resident of Lahore Cantt, expresses her disapproval of Davis’ release.
“I think it is the humiliation of Pakistanis and their law. This man murdered three Pakistanis, no matter who they were, and was kept in jail for a few days with all the facilities, and now they have released him. There is no one to ask, no one to cry out against… This means that anyone can do anything and Pakistani law has no respect,” she says. Three people refused to comment saying that they did not want to get involved in the business of intelligence agencies.
“They started it! Because of the game of these three intelligence agencies, three people got killed. Now they have released the murderer. What can we say?” said a man shrugging off his shoulders. “This was all a big game and now that the bereaved families have accepted money for the death of their loved ones, who are we to say anything?” says another.
“I have no comments and no feelings for this case,” says one disillusioned woman. “If we feel bad about the state of affairs, we cannot do much about it, so why even put ourselves in that position. We should all just disconnect ourselves emotionally,” she says. “Where is the self esteem of the leaders of this country?” asked Anooshay Malik, a student of LUMS.
“How could someone come to our land, kill our brothers and get away with it so easily, doesn’t this question our sovereignty? What has happened to the people of this country?” said Umer Iqbal, a student of GC. “If there was one thing that the nation was united over, it was the case of Raymond Davis. It is too bad that our incompetent politicians could not even amass votes over this episode,” said Rustam Ali Khan, a student of political science.
“What about Faheem’s wife who committed suicide? She knew that this case would never be brought to justice. Has her sacrifice thrown to waste?” asked Usman Javed, an ACCA student. “This was a test for us that we have failed miserably as a nation,” said Asif Ali, an engineer. “How can we do anything? Both of the parties involved in the incident are happy”, said Hamza Chaudry, a young businessman.
“What ever happened, happened for the good, I have a firm belief in our intelligence agencies,” said Ahsan Shiekh, a young dentist. “We’re ashamed by the decision taken by the elders of the government. We couldn’t do justice with the four lives wasted in the Raymond Davis episode,” said Mustafa Khan. “How could one say that Pakistan practices democracy when the opinion of the nation isn’t given any weight?” asked Imtiaz Ali.
The streets went empty even during the rush hour because the public feared intense reaction over the release. All main arties of Lahore showed an unusual image as only scarce traffic was seen at even major junctions of the city. Shops and markets were seen deserted. Most of the market associations showed a sense of disappointment, while some said that this had to happen. Furniture Association General Secretary Syed Imran Nabi said, “This was bound to happen, if not this day then some other day. The high-ups of Pakistan are US’s puppets.”
Political parties and the key figures, especially the opposition, started to mobilise their men. Jamat-e-Islami and Tehreeq-e-Insaaf were the first ones to start a protest in front of the Lahore Press club. While the media kept helplessly crying against the release, the youth flooded facebook with status updates on Davis’s release. “This is what we actually deserve. This is the point where we should either stand up and start taking practical and ‘brutal’ steps against our parliament and all those who are treating us as puppets or just sit back and accept that we are nothing but animals with no emotions, no self-respect, no dignity and no hold on our own homeland,” updated Asfand Rehman on facebook, a resident of WAPDA Town.
“I was considering working on a thesis mainly focused on Raymond Davis and its whole projection in local and international media, but it appears…” updated Umeri Farooqi. “Today I feel ashamed of being a Pakistani,” updated Mohammad Ibrahim Qazi.
