And now religious cleansing

Badami Bagh should serve as test case for criminal administration departments, to avoid recurrence of such happenings.

We live in a world of paradoxes. Pakistan was a cherished dream of our founding fathers for the Muslim minority of the subcontinent. But after 65 years of existence, it has turned into a nightmare for the minorities living here. A few years ago, it was Shanti Nagar, then Gojra happened, and now Badami Bagh has brought the worst out of us. This residential area of Lahore’s Christian community was torched in a pre-planned move. After seeing the footage of the tragedy, an instant reaction was to wonder as to what happened to the culprits and those nominated as accused persons in the Gojra incident. What did the prosecution do to protect and secure the evidence of the carnage in which innocent people were torched to death? Under the Criminal Procedure’s Code, that crime was perpetrated not just against a person or property alone; it was also a crime committed against the state. How did the state look after its interest in that case? Ultimately, influence-peddlers were able to prevail upon the complainant and the witnesses of the Gojra incident, who perhaps, did not have the muscle to face the lifelong wrath of the locals. They just gave in. This sad commentary explains how the predators of power and money can defeat the objectives of the criminal administration departments and that of the state.

Barbarity perpetrated by religious zealots in the name of Namoos-i-Rasalat have one common strand — apart from the alleged offence of blasphemy committed by an accused, there is invariably an undercurrent of some dispute over a stretch of land. Ambiguity about the title of land in some rundown locality keeps the pot boiling.

Christians in Punjab are a small fraction of the population, with no palpable political or economic clash with the majority. As a community, in the past, its members have made commendable contributions in the fields of education and health. Even now, they are an important segment of the workforce. They live in close-knitted localities and what is needed is a detailed mapping of these places, especially where there is ambiguity regarding the ownership of the title of land. Their land rights must be protected so that they do not fall prey to the shenanigans of the land mafia or that of torch-happy street urchins.

The tenure of the elected federal and provincial governments in the country has drawn to a close. The governments are busy presenting factsheets of their achievements while in power. It is also a moment for reflection as to what degree were they able to give a sense of personal security to the citizens of this country. The various ambitious programmes introduced by the federal and provincial governments cannot underwrite their future, as long as the problem of ensuring the security of the people of this country continues to simmer. Over the years, this has not just been a problem of governance failure but also of ethical failure. We are not inclined to change when we should have. We do not wish to solve problems whose solutions don’t sit well with our beliefs and require us to move out of our comfort zones.

Our urban areas are in the grip of violence. From Gilgit to Karachi to Quetta, our cities are up in flames. The rural scene is not so promising either. The populace in the rural areas is in constant battle with the power-holders who draw their strength from their vast political networks and get their way through these. Our leadership, in the days to come, needs to realise that politics is a learning curve. Cognitive learning involves sharp preceptors to gauge coming events and a need to stop seeing things in isolation. Governance, after all, is all about forming a close bond between the state and citizens through policies, programmes, their implementation and the resultant dividends. If this relationship does not work well, or if there are frequent glitches, then disappointment and disillusionment sets in.

The Badami Bagh incident should not pass off like earlier similar incidents. It should serve as a test case for criminal administration departments, if we wish to avoid recurrence of such happenings. Justice must be served with speed so that no influence-peddler can get any space to manipulate or compromise the evidence in this case.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2013.