Violence, murder and mayhem make Karachi's headlines: CJP

Chief Justice says rate of violent deaths has risen in the recent months and the law enforcers seem to be helpless.

KARACHI: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani said that terrorism, education deficit, poor urban planning and a myopic interpretation of tenets of Islam had destabilised the largest city and the economic hub of the country – Karachi.

Addressing an oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected office bearers of the Karachi Bar Association held at the Sindh High Court premises on Thursday, Jillani said that the city has fallen pray to different vices.

“The Mafias, the evangelists and now the terrorists took hold of the city. Today violence, murder and mayhem make headlines in the news of what once was a peaceful city,” the CJP said, “Alas! All has changed. The dreams have turned into nightmares.”

The CJP said that on account of the poor urban planning, pursuit of lopsided priorities by those who mattered, the jobs and businesses fell short of the rising demand, adding that the education deficit and a myopic interpretation of tenets of Islam confounded the situation and turned the fair competition into a battle of sorts between various groups.

Justice Jillani said that several societal issues surfaced such as the conflicts between the haves and have-nots, between the locals, between different religious sects.

According to an estimate, he said, about 2,000 people died in the preceding year and the state of the rule of law can be fathomed from the fact that according to a report more than half of the vehicles being plied in the city are without valid papers. “This is what we have made of the city of the Quaid.”

The Chief Justice said that rate of violent deaths has risen in the recent months and the law enforcers seem to be helpless in stemming this, adding that the culprits have chosen this city to destabilise the country socially, culturally and economically.

“Gone are the days when people would happily enjoy great cuisine in the road side cafes or listen to a wandering Sindhi minstrel playing his ektara without having the fear of having their cars snatched or vandalism.”

In his address, Justice Jillani said that while confronting challenges we need to realise that the temptation to overreach or bypass principles of the rule of law either by the government or by the parliament would be counterproductive and the war against terror cannot succeed unless there is cultural transformation and unless the people or the citizenry own it and extend their support.

“The effort to fight intolerance has to begin at home at school and in a college. It is here that every citizen has a role to play in a democracy,” he said.