Misplaced sympathies

Civil society activists in wake of Peshawar massacre are beginning to show some grit in support of their many causes

On January 4, a group of people gathered for a candlelight vigil at Liberty Chowk in Lahore to commemorate the death anniversary of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer. It will be recalled that Mr Taseer was murdered by his own security guard, because of his stance on the blasphemy laws. The guard was arrested, tried and sentenced to death and has achieved a darkly iconic status. The peaceful event by members of civil society was interrupted by men wielding batons. Those policemen who were present merely looked on. Video footage of the men committing the attack clearly showed their faces, their identities known, and was quickly circulating on social media.

Despite the fact that the attack had been witnessed by the police, they were reluctant to register a case immediately. Civil society stood its ground, and rightly so, and belatedly on January 5, the Gulberg police filed an FIR against suspected attackers, with 35 men having been taken into custody, including several who were seen to be involved in the attack. There is a report that the majority of the men arrested belong to a banned organisation. There has been a commemorative event for Mr Taseer every year since his death but this is the first time it has been attacked.

While the eventual arrest of the suspected culprits is highly welcome, the initial tardiness of the police indicates where their sympathies lie, and it is most certainly not with those who were holding a peaceful vigil for a man murdered in cold blood. Civil society activists in the wake of the Peshawar massacre are beginning to show some grit and determination in support of their many causes. The protests at the Lal Masjid were similarly treated with some contempt by the police, who only acted to file an FIR when pressed to do so. The FIR in Lahore was only registered after civil society activists took their complaints directly to the police. We hope that the police follow through and that there is an early — and successful — prosecution.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th,  2015.

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