Power, influence and impunity

Zain Rauf’s death isn't an isolated instance of roguery: sons of ex-PMs, scions of feudals have killed in like fashion

Last week we were reminded once again of the hierarchies of power and influence that penetrate our society and the sense of impunity these evoke amongst those who yield authority. Fourteen-year-old Zain Rauf was shot dead on April 1 in Cavalry Ground, Lahore by stray bullets fired indiscriminately by the intoxicated son of a former minister of state and his bodyguards. The trigger: a collision with the car of a lady driver. The response: excessive, brutal and indefensible firing in a fit of annoyance, without thought of consequence or retribution.

Media outrage, public condemnation and government intervention, as before, highlighted the issue and possibly expedited the arrest and detention of the assailants. It is important to remember, however, that Zain Rauf’s death is not an isolated instance of roguery. Instead he is a casualty of the VIP culture, which permeates our society and fosters a sense of privilege and immunity. We have encountered many such instances before: sons of ex-prime ministers, scions of feudal lords and business tycoons, and others enjoying patronage of the local police (themselves or through their coterie of guards) have maimed and killed in like fashion.

In October 2014, 24-year-old Tahir Malik, travelling through DHA, Lahore, on his motorcycle fell to his death upon being shot by the security guard of an ex-premier’s son for attempting to overtake the VIP’s motorcade. Who can forget the evocative saga surrounding the murder of Shahzeb Khan in Karachi, in December 2012? Ruthlessly gunned down on the night of his sister’s wedding by Shahrukh Jatoi and Siraj Talpur, both belonging to families with wealth and reach, Shahzeb Khan became an emblem of the struggle for justice against might and privilege. The Askari-X brawl in Lahore in February this year is still fresh in our memories. Relatives of an ex-police constable beat to death 16-year-old Syed Muhammad Murtaza, a student of LGS Paragon Lahore, and thereafter attempted to take refuge behind the shield of patronage. Yet influence and power fetch a degree of invincibility.

The guard who shot Tahir Malik was handed over to the police. The FIR for Malik’s murder registered against the ex-premier’s son appears to have been shelved somewhere, following an alleged “compromise” with the victim’s family. At first the guilty verdict handed down to Jatoi and Talpur for Shahzeb’s death by an anti-terrorism court appeared a feat for a judicial system criticised for its susceptibility to manipulation. A few months later, Shahzeb’s family, however, pardoned the convicted killers in “the name of Allah”, though unconfirmed reports suggest a multi-million-rupee compromise deal was struck between the parties.

Do we fault these families for surrendering their fight for justice upon religious considerations or in return for money (whichever account you may choose to believe)? No. These ‘deals’ are, in most instances, secured through a play of pressure and arm-twisting, and have emerged as a currency employed by the influential to purchase their innocence and freedom. As a consequence, not all are equal before the eyes of the law. Privilege skews the balance of justice, with the legal system at times itself co-opting with hierarchies of power. But even in those commendable instances where the law truly adheres to the principle of equality, these networks of power step in to unravel its doing. The problem is both legal and attitudinal. The issue lies with (the misuse of) provisions of law that privatise the eventual dispensation of justice, state mechanisms that fail to protect the weak from pressure or intimidation, and the entitlement accorded to the powerful to evade systems of rule and regulations.

Will the widowed mother of Zain Rauf be able to secure the conviction of the man who took her son’s life? Or will her struggle meet the same fate as Malik’s and Shahzeb’s? One cannot say. That Rauf’s alleged murderer has also been booked under Section seven of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) may be the only saving grace here. ATA offences are non-compoundable and no private compromise can secure the impunity that Rauf’s assailant may seek. This is why Jatoi and Talpur, despite the compromise, have still not been able to walk away scot-free. But then we cannot rely on mere technicalities of law to root out VIP culture.

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

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