Brutal times

IT seems that there is no space left for the law to take its course. Vigilantes lurk in the safest spaces, the applause for those who kill is no longer from the sidelines, and the lust for instant justice runs high. The latest string of chilling episodes illustrates that radicalisation continues to attack Pakistan’s vitals. On Thursday, a day after an Umerkot-based doctor was charged for posting allegedly blasphemous content on social media, he was killed in a ‘police encounter’ in Mirpurkhas. An enraged crowd then chased his family, snatched his corpse and set it alight. Meanwhile, in Quetta, the family of slain blasphemy suspect Abid Ali pardoned police officials for his custodial killing as well as denounced the victim and his ‘crime’. Such incidents go beyond zealotry and denial of due process; they confirm a pattern of unlawful police violence endorsed by the mobs. In both these cases, what is needed is a thorough probe; it is the state’s duty, after all, to protect suspects and the judiciary’s to ensure a fair trial.
Deprivation, economic distress, deteriorating security and state patronage for obscurantism have brutalised society no end. But even more worrying is the knowledge that, despite glaring evidence of a society desensitised to extreme violence, the powers that be will neither introspect nor act. More than four decades of failed policies and religious hegemony have shaped a grim reality where vulnerable citizens are held captive to lethal narratives. Unproved accusations destroy poor and minority communities, forcing them to abandon their homes and livelihoods, and leave for foreign shores. It is time for the state to enforce its writ and not relinquish control — often in the face of mob violence, which is frequently motivated by unfounded allegations and personal enmities. Instead, it must work towards changing course to save the country’s soul. No one should be allowed to take justice into their own hands — including the police. Otherwise, fanaticism will only increase.
Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2024