Murder mystery

Parents found dead day after Justice Iqbal had made some tough comments while hearing the missing person’s case.

Is the killing of the parents of Justice Javed Iqbal a criminal act no different to those that occur on an almost daily basis in times of growing lawlessness, or is the purpose to send out a message of some kind? Either motive is possible in times when the force of fear is used frequently to silence those who dare to speak on controversial issues or to disturb a hornet’s nest that has been left untouched for years. As a result, it has grown larger and larger, threatening anyone who veers too close. Could the angry buzzing have turned into a deadly sting?

The fact that the strangulated bodies of Malik Abdul Hameed, ironically enough a former deputy inspector general of police, and his wife Amna Bibi were found in their living room  — a day after Justice Iqbal had made some tough comments while hearing the missing person’s case as part of the three-member Supreme Court bench — has raised suspicion. This doubt is in itself testimony to the times we live in, when people can be targeted simply for doing the right thing. Investigation will focus on this sinister possibility too.

It is also worrying that the killing took place in a high security zone, with cameras installed along many streets in the Cavalry Grounds area where many army officers reside. Contradictory versions from police officers, with suggestions made that robbers may have shot the couple, add to the confusion. Other accounts say they were smothered using pillows. It is unclear if there were any signs of robbery. The murder has sinister connotations. A thorough investigation is needed. The fact that we are even discussing the possibility that it may have been carried out to influence the verdict in a case that has repeatedly created waves is a frightening thought. It indicates the fact that law no longer has any meaning in our land and that the state is increasingly incapable of guaranteeing security of life.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th,  2011.