Shame!
We have become a nation that cannot safeguard its own children. Nobody could keep hundreds of infants from starving to death in Thar. We watched helplessly as the enemy slaughtered children in school in Peshawar. And once again we are a spectacle of feebleness as the Kasur child abuse scandal shames us. There is nothing to say, of course, that far worse atrocities have not escaped our attention; and continue every day under our very noses. Yet we remain a nation that just cannot care for its own. We can build highways and power plants, but we cannot provide security of life and dignity to the common man.
The biggest part of the problem is exactly what followed when this story broke. The official machinery went into its typical part-paralysis and complete-denial mode. The concerned police representative, on live television, bent over backwards to wriggle out of any sort of binding responsibility. Even now the police are investing most of their resources into spinning facts to deflect popular attention from the case, instead of dioing what they are paid to do. And Rana Sanaullah too, as usual, tried to do what is always ‘right’ for the government – brush it under the carpet. Once again civil society is asking for his resignation.
The chief minister must direct his investigation team to also probe where, if at all, the police has tried to slow down this case. And if elements in the machinery are found out of line, there should be quick and visible justice. At the risk of repetition, crime flourishes in our parts only because it is not checked and punishment is not awarded where necessary. Even if this tragedy cannot shake the government into finally taking responsibility, perhaps nothing will. It screams out loudly just what sort of country this Islamic Republic has become as people wait for justice.
