The strange logic of bans

Law Minister Sanaullah opposed the resolution on the grounds that it did not define which concerts should be banned

Soon after the tragic incident of 9/11, a text message did the rounds here: What would the government have done if 9/11 had happened in Pakistan? Slap a ban on pillion riding.

Funny maybe, but also illustrative of a strange logic deeply embedded in our policy-makers. Yesterday in the Punjab Assembly, they demonstrated it again when Seemal Kamran of the PML-Q presented a resolution in the house calling for a ban on all concerts in public and private educational institutions. The background was a tragedy in Lahore two weeks ago, when three girl students from a private college lost their lives in a stampede that followed a music concert at the Alhamra Cultural Complex. The sponsor of the resolution was of the view that concerts were a waste of time and of no service to students, while also having the potential to become tragedies like the Lahore stampede.

Surprisingly, however, she did not speak a word against the management of the Alhamra Cultural Complex. The venue’s management had refused to open the main gate at the end of the concert, diverting the whole crowd towards a narrow lane exit. Their poor decision resulted in the stampede in which the young women were crushed.

Law Minister Rana Sanaullah opposed the resolution on the grounds that the resolution did not define which concerts should be banned. He said that concerts where national songs were played also would fall under the ban, which should not happen.

He too excluded any comment on the Alhamra management, which falls under his government’s jurisdiction. But he did point out that the concert was organised by a private college network whose owner also owns a leading TV station, and that the news channels had not pursued the story with their usual vigour, pointing to a nexus between private business and media.

In this point at least, the minister was on target. But in general, both Kamran and Sanaullah were way off the mark. The law minister chose not to blame the management of the premises (for obvious reasons) while the mover of the resolution sought a blanket ban on concerts, camouflaging the actual reasons for the tragedy. If we expanded upon the logic expounded in the resolution, we would come up with odd solutions to grave problems. Why not close down the Punjab Institute of Cardiology, where spurious drugs were distributed to patients? Why not lock up all houses in the city where dacoities take place? Why not ban our children from leaving the house, since almost all kidnappings take place outdoors?

In the end, the law minister added an even stranger dimension to the resolution. He said he would not oppose the resolution if the word “objectionable” was added, so that only the “objectionable” concerts would be banned. Who decides which concert is objectionable? What was objectionable about the concert where the tragedy struck? Was the stampede caused by the objectionable nature of the concert?

Somehow, that’s the way logic works in this part of the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2012.