Forgotten victims

The case of Muneeb and Mughees lingers on in courts, six months after the incident.

Terrible events take place in our country, generating large headlines and whipping up a public frenzy, with debates raging on TV channels and calls being made for justice to be delivered. The impression is that the event may actually bring about some kind of change in society as a result of the anger and emotion that is generated in response to such news. In actuality, however, this rarely happens. Events move on, the story is forgotten, and often, the victims slide back into dark shadows where they receive little attention or support from society.

Nearly six months from today, teenage brothers Muneeb and Mughees died in an incident of crazed mob violence in Sialkot. Debate continues as to whether or not the two young men were robbers. But this is completely unrelated to the point. No one, regardless of any crime he or she may have committed, deserves to be brutally beaten to death on the streets. We live not in a medieval fiefdom but in a state where there are courts and a constitutionally defined system of justice, intended to protect the rights of all citizens.

In practice, this does not happen. The case of Muneeb and Mughees lingers on in courts. It is impossible to predict when a verdict may come in. Their family has complained repeatedly of receiving death threats from those behind the dual murder. Some police protection has been offered — however, this adds to the financial burden on the family since they have to feed the constables three times a day. What is far more disturbing is the fact that nothing seems to change. The violence that has been rampaging though society continues to grow unchecked; people struggle to access justice. And, in this environment, there are always fears that yet another incident of a similar nature will take place sooner rather than later, putting more lives in jeopardy and adding to the list of tragic incidents of women being buried alive or alleged blasphemers killed, that stare out at us from the recent past.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2011.