Violent behavior

Letter September 09, 2019
Few more incidents happened with the same cruelty, which shows the decadent state of our society

KARACHI: Hundreds of violent incidents take place daily and only a few are able to surface on the media after getting much attention. Although stern action is taken in these cases, such incidents continue to occur.

The death of Salahuddin in mysterious circumstances in police custody has shocked the nation. But things did not stop there. Few more incidents happened with the same cruelty, which shows the decadent state of our society. One can argue that the incidents involved individuals and some reforms along with the laws can help mitigate these types of cases. A few days ago a man killed himself along with seven members of his family; a boy suspected of theft was so badly tortured in Karachi that he died on the spot. It seems as if the whole of society has lost its mental balance. The recent surge in such incidents is deeply rooted in the mindset of our society. A boy bears torture from his parents, faces corporal punishment in school and experiences inequality and mistreatment at the hands of society.

The society plays its role in amplifying the already panicked mind through injustice, unrest, low standard of life, little to no opportunities and a system tilted in favour of the rich and mighty. There is an urgent need now than ever before for the government, NGOs and civil society to play their part in exploring the avenues to quell this culture of violence once and for all. More focus should be put on mental attitude and rehabilitation. Mere laws and reforms would not help unless a sense prevails in the society of selflessness and humanism.

We should invest in our future generations by promoting love for one another, consideration for others in textbooks. The government alone would not be able to do the needful without a helping hand from society.

Muhammad Ahsan Ijaz

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2019.

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