Punjab govt yet to apportion blame for PIC mayhem

Police point out bar politics as the major factor behind the incident

LAHORE: Fifth day since the attack on Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), the authorities are yet to fix the responsibility.

Lawyers had termed a doctor's 'provoking' video as the reason behind the attack while the doctors pointed fingers towards the failure and mismanagement of the government in averting the PIC mayhem. Police pointed out bar politics as the major behind the incident. However, Punjab Information Minister Fayyaz Chohan tried to tone down the issue by terming it as a result of ‘sudden provocation’.

With heavy contingent of Rangers and police deployed outside the PIC and other important points in the city, the medical services to patients were yet to be initiated properly though the government had announced that the PIC's emergency started functioning on Saturday.

The PIC attack by lawyers in the provincial capital is seen an utter failure of the authorities. Lahore is the city where international cricket revived amid serious terror threats after an attack on Sri Lankan team a decade ago.

Acting like mere silent spectators, the failure and helplessness of the authorities during the whole episode, has raised many eyebrows. The mob of lawyers with batons in hands while shouting slogans, rampaging the hospital, torturing doctors, allied medical staff, patients, setting a police van on fire, hurling stones on hospital as well police speaks louder than any arguments about it.

The incident also raised serious questions that why police did not act proactively to stop this tragedy to occur.

So far, the police and government have termed it to be as a result of ‘sudden provocation’. CCPO Lahore Zulfiqar Hameed while speaking outside PIC and Punjab Information and Cultural Minister while speaking to a news channel said so. Lawyers are referring to a doctor’s video allegedly humiliating lawyers that went viral as the prime stimulus for the attack. Police is adding up bar politics as another factor as substance of “sudden provocation”.

However, a discompassionate and objective analysis reveals a total contrary picture. A few serious mistakes and shortcomings in dealing with all the events including on the day of the attack have been observed. The state institutions need to acknowledge as well rectify these.

The PIC attack incident is not an isolated event. It is a series of incidents that are needed to be considered as a whole for a well rooted analysis. A group of lawyers had visited the hospital last month where a conflict surfaced in which medical staff of the hospital tortured them.

Such incidents or cases are not unusual. Such incidents have been reported in the past not only in Pakistan but also in other parts of the world.

After the beating of lawyers, the community progressed to agitation. They held a demonstration outside the IG office and demanded insertion of 7-ATA into FIR. Police gave up to their demand. Giving up the pressure of insertion of a section without considering complications arising as setting it up as a precedent was ignored. These were not the first time that these have been ignored.

There have been multiple incidents where the essence of law has been compromised as a means of pacifying certain pressure groups. The question is why state institutions so easily succumb to such pressures?

Police should have proactively tried to intervene in the matter and tried to diffuse the situation after the doctor’s video went viral. The crucial mistake was handling of the lawyers' march towards the PIC.

Police’s internal reports admit that the lawyers had used the aggressive language as marching to PIC to take “revenge” during their meeting. Besides, they were carrying sticks while moving towards the venue.

Even the process of gathering of lawyers, their aggressive speeches, walking a distance of five kilometres to reach out the PIC and barging into it contradict their plea of “sudden provocation”.

A few senior police officers said police wanted to avoid the repetition of Model Town-like tragedy.

Even this argument does not vindicate them from their mishandling of the conflict. Lahore Police have more than enough capacity to stop a mob of 300-400 people without resorting to baton charge and tear gas shelling. They can easily do it by simply making a human barrier.

Their Anti-Riot Force unit outnumbered the total number of lawyers that had gathered up to storm the hospital.

The whole world observed the process of withering away of state’s writ in the heart of the country. That is not a good message at all. People learn from life experiences and events. PIC episode is not an example of any section of our society as well state.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2019.