It seems as if a ‘game permit’, like one given to hunters, has been given to the rowdy elite of this country
LAHORE: Will justice ever be served for the likes of Zain or Bilal, who were killed by sons of the political and bureaucratic elite? It seems as if a ‘game permit’, like one given to hunters, has unofficially been given, along with prohibited weapons licences to the rowdy elite of this country, who can kill at will if somebody dares to anger them. They can crush somebody while driving a car in a state of intoxication. Can Zain’s mother or Bilal’s mother expect a fair investigation from the same police and local administration that have been facilitating the culprits in evading punishment? Is it lawful in Pakistan to start firing indiscriminately on public roads? And if any citizen or orphan gets killed, it is considered just an ‘accident’, as if it were a death ordained by nature.
Since 1956, we have been seeing the transformation of the Quaid and Iqbal’s vision of a modern democratic welfare state for people into a state dedicated to the welfare of the elite and the bureaucracy, with their subsidised and expanding palatial housing societies surrounded by a sea of people living in desperation, with no rights to education, health, justice or even clean water. The government does not intend to follow examples set by Caliph Omar (RA) in this Islamic republic. What we have in Pakistan is an apartheid system of justice, with a clear two-caste system, where the rich get tax relief, are allowed to take the law into their own 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 a few lawyers are making a mockery of our judicial system.
Having lived in the subcontinent for centuries, we sought independence to escape the exploitation and abuse of a Hindu fundamentalist mindset, but have ended up creating our own two castes of Dalits and Brahmins. Caliph Ali (RA) stated that a state cannot survive without justice. We are witnessing destruction by design of the Quaid’s Pakistan by a few who are in haste to rob this country and flee abroad.
Malik Tariq Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2015.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
