I begged to disagree.
Only the poor get punished. For the rich, it is simply ‘pay-as-you-go’. As the settlement in the Shahzeb Khan case shows, the law takes a back seat to wealth and power. It is also a reminder that everything has a price. Whether that price is tangible (as in the case of those who claim taking the money was akin to selling out a child) or intangible (which would be backed by those who support the family’s claims of security fears) is up for debate.
But the sad reality is that as long as the option to buy out victims’ families for any crime remains on the books, the law is pointless. Thomas Aquinas defined law as an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community.
So, has the common good been served? This is a question even the Chief Justice of Pakistan asked while stating, “Cases are pardoned in the name of God and it should be identified if the pardon is against the law or in the interest of the overall society”.
Sadly, this also is the price of allowing murder victims’ relatives to overrule the legal system, which is itself enforced by a police service that is known far and wide for being corrupt, inept and apathetic.
Ibn Rushd referred to wisdom as the companion of law. The wisdom here would be to recognise that the victim’s family is not the primary victim. The victim — as is the case with any murder — is dead.
Would the victim put a price tag on his life? Unlikely.
It is the responsibility of the state to ensure that its citizens are secure, and in turn, provide justice for those to whom it could not provide security.
Compensation-based pardons may serve justice to the victims of non-lethal crimes as they can speak for themselves, but it also absolves the state of the responsibility to speak for the silenced. And a state that assumes it has no responsibility to speak for its silenced citizens is much akin to a lamb being led to the slaughter.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2013.
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Could someone enlighten on the latest situation on Shazebs muder case. Has the court accepted the pardon granted by Shazebs family in the name of Allah. I was reading in one of the articles on this case that the pardon does not hold good as this case was decided by ATC and not under the r PPC
I would greatly welcome comments from reputed Jurists and Islamic Scholars as to how relevant is Qisa and Diya laws under such cold blooded murder cases .be it Shahzebs or any other murder. Can the mighty and the tough take cover under the Qisas and Diya Law and get away with murder in the name of God..