Violated by law

Much too often in this country, some news so harrowing crosses our eyes that the daily toil of letting routine bureaucratic mismanagement fade into the background catches up to us. One such incident recently occurred in Mirpurkhas, when a 24-year-old woman seeking custody of her minor daughter was allegedly raped by the very police officer assigned to her case. SHO Mir Khadim, who was suspended presumably till the official investigation's conclusion, has since then gone into hiding. Another officer allegedly involved in the incident, ASI Faisal Mahar, was merely taken into custody for four days.

It would be cumbersome to point out each individual instance here when the law of the land not only failed to protect its own people but instead offered subtle protection to the perpetrators of a heinous crime. The young woman had already made several rounds to Mehran Police Station for the recovery of her daughter who was in the custody of her ex-husband in another district - only to return disappointed after the SHO's failed attempts at retrieval.

The incompetence of police officers when dealing with a case brought forth by a powerless woman is unmistakeable from the get-go. But alleged sexual assault perpetrated by stationed officers, who have been handpicked by officials to ensure the deliverance of justice, deeply corrodes any semblance of security Pakistani women might have had.

The failure of the department in keeping tabs on a suspended officer, alongside a punishment akin to child's play for an accomplice, paints a deeply bleak and haunting picture over a sector that is supposedly responsible for citizens' 'security'. Justice in its true sense of the word may never be delivered. But if convicted, all involved parties must pay hefty retributions, with their licences revoked and their careers in law enforcement ceased forever. And even that would not be enough.