Righteousness gets it so right

Ironic that the right, who clamour about rule of law, are not happy seeing it applied where it does not suit them.

Raymond Davis, murderer, spy, CIA contractor, US citizen, diplomat, take your pick. Whatever and however labelled, he has managed to invoke a piece of legislation which compounds murder, and allows the murderer to pay compensation to the victim’s families and walk away. General Ziaul Haq, in his zeal to remove all shreds of humanity, bequeathed us a package of so-called Islamic laws, of which the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance was a part, that came to be known as the Hudood Ordinances. Mr Nawaz Sharif, in his quest for his personal Holy Grail and position as God’s vice- regent, took this already exploitative law and made it part of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The qisas and diyat provisions have been used most effectively to deny justice, to women and vulnerable members of society. Murder, most often due to disputes over property, has been sanctioned in the name of honour killing. If the qisas and diyat provisions are invoked, the offence of murder becomes compoundable and the accused merely pays an agreed compensation to the victim’s family and walks away. In most cases the accused and the heir are the same person; the husband, the father, the brother. Doesn’t sound right, does it? No it doesn’t. It’s a well-established legal principle that you cannot benefit from your illegal action.

None of our defenders of the faith or our right-wing advocates, who have been shouting for justice for Aafia Siddiqui, have ever stood up and said that the law is exploitative and patently bad. It was, after all, the genius of a military dictator who, in the tradition of the worst kind of medieval despots, used religion and fuelled it with ignorance to keep his illegal hold on power. Steeped in ignorance, they shied away from what we conveniently call controversy. Don’t touch the law, it’s tantamount to messing with the faith, and we all know how dire the consequences of that can be.

So enter Raymond Davis, murderer, spy, diplomat, and he invokes the law. The law protected so fiercely by the righteous. The law used to condone the murders of so many women and other weak and vulnerable segments of society. One has not heard Imran Khan, Sheikh Rashid or the Jamaat-i-Islami speak out about injustice then. Why do they speak now? Why is Davis any different from Saima’s mother who had her daughter murdered in her lawyer’s chambers? Is it because he is an American? Surely that should work better. He will pay in dollars and, given the exchange rate, it is way better than the compensation paid, or allegedly paid, in the hundreds of honour killing cases.

It’s the law, and sadly, the Pakistani mind is not good when it comes to the law. We forget that there will always be someone richer, more powerful and more able to exploit the provisions of a bad law than us. So, while the rich and powerful have been exploiting the qisas and diyat provisions to deal with troublesome women for over thirty years, it is amusing to see them in a complete flap over someone, with access to significant resources, invoke the same provisions and, to their chagrin, do so successfully.

Perhaps now they will realise that murder means murder. That it is not perfectly acceptable for anyone to pick up a gun and shoot someone, simply because they do not agree with them. It’s time to realise that all citizens are equal and should be accorded the same protection by the law. Citizens of Pakistan should not have to live in fear of being called blasphemers, kari’s and the like. They should have comfort in the fact that there is such a thing as rule of law, and that it will apply without fear or favour to all.

It’s ironic that the right, who clamour about the rule of law, are now not happy seeing it applied where it does not suit them. The knife they have wielded so mercilessly has now come to rest in their backs. This is the time for all those who want to see a just and equitable Pakistan, to come together and finally rid ourselves of General Zia’s horrible legacy. The righteous, it appears from all accounts, have seen the light.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2011.