KARACHI: Over the course of the last few years, I have seen some of the most disappointing and shocking traffic violations take place on the streets of Karachi, from 12-year-olds driving with their entire families sitting in the car to VIPs being escorted for a cup of coffee by a parade of 20 guards disrupting the common man’s life.
However, what I saw recently appalled me. On the intersection, where the Turkish consulate is located, stood a traffic policeman arguing with a driver of a small car. Ever since the failed one-way on Khayaban-e-Shamsheer was initiated by the DHA, this has become a common sight. In the midst of this scene, a black Hilux came from the wrong side of the road. The policeman, who was standing in the middle of the road, tried to request the traffic violator to stop. The driver, clearly too important to pay heed to a lowly policeman and possibly appalled at his boldness, drove straight over him. The policeman was dragged over for a good couple of feet over the road, his legs dangling over the engine of the car, until he lost his balance and fell to one side. The driver then, naturally, drove on. The poor policeman had no option but to get up, dust off his uniform and get back to his job of fining the more accessible.
Witnessing this scene caused me a great deal of sadness. I don’t blame the traffic police. It has been given no authority or respect by the system — the government of this country. Frankly, I don’t blame the driver, either. He behaves in this manner because he has been given the liberty and freedom to do so by the system. Forget education, humility and respect. We lost those values a long time ago. When a country loses its sense of justice and upholding the law on the streets, it truly reinforces the direction in which the nation is headed.
Saman Malik
Published in The Express Tribune, August 9th, 2012.
