Will justice ever be done for the likes of Zain or Bilal, who were killed by sons of political elite and influential DSP in Lahore respectively? It seems as if “game permit” like the one given to hunters has unofficially being given along with prohibitive weapons license to rowdy elite of this country who can kill at will if somebody dares to anger them, or crush somebody while driving a car under the state of intoxication. Can Zain or Bilal’s mothers expect fair investigation from same police and local administration which has been facilitating them to evade punishment? Is it lawful in Pakistan to start firing indiscriminately on public roads and if any common citizen or orphan gets killed, it is considered just an accident as if it were death ordained by nature?
Since 1956 we are seeing transformation of Quaid and Iqbal’s vision of a modern democratic welfare state for people into a state dedicated for welfare of elite and its paid civil and uniformed bureaucracy, with their subsidised and expanding palatial housing societies surrounded be a sea of people living in desperation with no right to education, health, justice or even clean water. What we have in Pakistan is an apartheid system of justice, with a clear two caste system where rich get tax reliefs, are allowed to take law into their hands, rape and molest poor women, and occupy state or private land belonging to the poor. Just look at the manner in which our lower judiciary and few lawyers are making a mockery of our judicial system in Ayyan Ali’s trial?
Having lived in the subcontinent for centuries we sought independence to escape exploitation and abuse of Hindu fundamentalist mindset but have ended up creating our own two castes of Dalits and Brahmans. Hazrat Ali stated that a state can survive without religion, but not without justice. We are witnessing destruction by design of Quaid’s Pakistan by the few, who having given up, are now in haste to rob this country and flee abroad.
ALI MALIK
Lahore
