Justice served?

So, Shahid Nazeer, better known as Gullu Butt, who has figured so prominently in political discussions lately, has been sentenced by an anti-terrorism court in Lahore to an 11-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs111,000. The punishment, of course, comes for the actions he carried out in June this year when he was caught on camera smashing cars and other vehicles during the police raid at the Minhajul Quran Secretariat in Model Town, Lahore, which led to the death of 14 people. The issue created a storm in the country, with part of it unfolding in Islamabad in the form of the protest movement launched by Dr Tahirul Qadri..



Gullu Butt of course, needs to be punished. However, we should also ask if the length of time awarded to him behind bars is not excessive. Other people committing more serious crimes have got away with much less. There are also other pertinent issues that require answers. Gullu Butt was clearly not the key figure behind what happened at Model Town. Someone, somewhere, must have issued the directions, which were then acted upon with devastating effect. These persons, presumably in powerful positions, appear to have gotten away with their role in the killings that took place. Surely, the priority, for the sake of justice in its real sense, must be to identify them, and by doing so perhaps, prevent them from engaging in similar misuse of power in the future.

In our country, this, however, seems unlikely to happen. The culture which allows the influential to get away with crime prevents this. So do laws which allow the wealthy to pay compensation and escape scot-free in cases of murder. Surely, those who committed the murders in June deserve greater punishment than Gullu Butt, who was essentially a side player in the events that took place that day. This is something we need to consider and assess. We need to put right a system that does not really work, with much that has happened apparently coming as a result of pressures of various kinds. This is wrong. Steps need to be taken to put it right for the sake of all citizens in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2014.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.