In order to survive in Pakistan with self-esteem, you either have to be ‘someone’, or be very, very lucky.
KARACHI: Many streets and roads have been blocked in Karachi in the name of security. The general population not only has to face the inconvenience of finding its way through these blocked roads, but also has to tolerate abuse and harassment from security personnel. The guards outside the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) office in Clifton Block 8 are a prime example of how men with guns (and other forms of power) treat the rest in this country. Seemingly untrained in basic civility and manners, the guards misbehave with people who make the ‘mistake’ of using the public road that has now been blocked by the force. A guard at the ANF offices threatened to shoot me when I asked him why he was hurling abuses at me when he clearly saw me moving away from the office on my way to my car. The guard said I should get going or else he will shoot me, and of course, I did what he told me to do. I surrendered a piece of my self-esteem to a man with power — like most of us helpless Pakistanis do every day.
When I talk to my elders, they seem to have little or no answers as to why this country can claim any rights on its citizens. People in power abuse it on any and every level they can. Be it a feudal’s son murdering a teenager, security personnel shooting the people they are supposed to protect, or politicians violating the very rights they are expected to ensure that the people get. And the worst part is that there is absolutely no respite, no one you could report a problem to, no one you would expect to listen. From seemingly minor offences to heinous crimes, there is no one answerable. In order to survive in Pakistan with self-esteem, you either have to be ‘someone’ (or know someone), or be very, very lucky not to get stuck in a bad situation ever.
Asad Shairani
Published in The Express Tribune, March 14th, 2014.
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