An abundance of whipping boys

Is why we never catch those who wreak havoc, create mayhem and kill ruthlessly

Justice has eluded Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the young scion of Pakistan Peoples Party, like millions others. It played hide-and-seek with him in the same fashion it had been playing with countless others. Now, the next round will begin with appeals to higher forums

An anti-terrorism court last week announced the much-anticipated verdict in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto case. Interestingly, it didn’t sentence anyone for murder. It acquitted all them five militants who had been accused of assassinating BB, labelled former president and army chief, Pervaiz Musharraf, an absconder and a ‘proclaimed offender’ and in an unrivalled move sentenced the two police officers for 17 years each for dereliction of duties, criminal negligence, not securing the site immediately after the attack and causing disappearance of evidence of offence.

The judgment left all and sundry, the interested and the disinterested, the idle observer and the keen critic, dumbfounded. Rudimentary questions like who killed BB, who abetted the assassination, who planned the act, who helped execute the plan, who provided the finance and what grand scheme and mighty powers were behind it remain as unanswered today as they were a decade back. The loose ends remain loose, even more entangled, as the judgment hardly resolves anything. The murderers are at large, the absconder is abroad and those who were entrusted to protect the slain leader and were present at the scene are handed down punishment that even transcends life sentence.

Both of the officers, Additional Inspector General Saud Aziz and Senior Superintendent Police Khurram Shehzad, hail from the prestigious Police Service of Pakistan and it seems as if they were handed down the strict punishments in a futile pursuit of exemplary justice where a person or a group is made an example out of to deter others in future. And it has succeeded as from now on, police officers will keep in mind that no matter who does the killing it’ll be their neck that will be fixed in a guillotine.

What could be the possible rationale for the anti-terrorism court judge to incur such a punishment on those who have been careless at best and criminally negligent at worst? Did he just punish the uniformed gentlemen who are alive, present, dispensable and at hand as harshly as possible while turning a blind eye from the real perpetrators who were never caught in the first place, and till to date remain missing?

We, in our heart of hearts, crave that the good, the bad and the ugly be held to account for their deeds and misdeeds. And in this regard we are as selective as ever.

Dearest sirs and ma’ams, accountability is an offspring of justice, which in turn is the attribute of the impartial, a habit of the unbiased, and the wisdom of the one who has nothing to gain from the produce of the farm under dispute.

A judgment like this in such a landmark case undermines all that the ideal of justice stands for. Justice, to cut to the chase, can never be done by punishing the whipping boys or getting rid of a case as if it was a headache and a perpetual cause for nuisance.

Justice has eluded Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the young scion of Pakistan Peoples Party, like millions others. It played hide-and-seek with him in the same fashion it had been playing with countless others. Now, the next round will begin with appeals to higher forums, another round of revisions and reviews, more arguments from prosecution, more counter arguments from defence, and so on and so forth. Hopefully, the two whipping boys will get their life (even jobs, if they are lucky) back soon.

Back to the whipping boys, dearest sirs and ma’ams. Many of you must be aware that the best of the lot after passing competitive services exams join Police Service of Pakistan, as many young aspirants see in it a good and challenging job, quick promotions coupled with postings and transfers and a golden opportunity to become part of the administrative elite in a country where patronage, kinship and state power runs the roost every single day.

What they’ll know from now on, after this judgment, will be the sword of Damocles that had been hanging on their heads will fall and cut them in two at slightest of the ‘negligence’ on their part. Reminds me of a line from, ‘Peanuts’ where Charlie Brown, the central protagonist says ‘I learned that what you sign up for and what you get are two different things,’. No police officer signs up for (even in his worst nightmare) 17 years in prison for performing (or not) his duties.

The thoughts raging in the judge’s mind can be imagined easily as it doesn’t need much talent or creativity. ‘You didn’t do it, I know. We all know. But we couldn’t find those who did it, so it’ll be you who’ll face the music for seventeen years in a gaol. That is justice for those who stay around long enough. That is the only justice when a nation has an abundance of whipping boys’.