SPY EYES

After 64 years of independence,the majority of Pakistanis are still living under the weight of oppression and inequality. A traffic violation,robbery or even a murder case is hardly different in the eyes of the law. In Pakistan,the discerning factor is the status of the plaintiff or the defense,not the severity of the crime. More often than not,the law sides with the more powerful party. Last week,the nation witnessed another proof of this situation when CM Punjab’s daughter was seen using unnecessary measures to acquire a cake from a bakery in Lahore. Irfan,an employee of the bakery,was beaten and kidnapped later that evening by the Elite Police Force personnel under the orders of CM’s son-in-law,Ali Imran. It was highly appalling to see Elite Forces personnel to be bystanders and even worse,perpetrators to the crime of torture and kidnapping of an innocent citizen. The police are meant to protect and serve the people but like many another things in Pakistan,the role of the police is far from clear. Police forces have been used for quite some time for carrying out the dirty work of politicians. Fear of hostile repercussions to oneself and one’s family have prevented law-abiding citizens from standing up to this abuse of authority. While it is understandable to provide special security to top politicians like the chief minister,it is certainly not appropriate to use tax payers’ money to provide security to the son-in-law of the CM. This case of affliction took place on October 7th but it wasn’t until the social media picked it up that the public came to know about this. An FIR was then registered under Section 148,149 and 506 for simple conflicts against Ali Imran and 8 of his guards on October 15th,a whole week later. PML-N was unable to provide a reason for this lag in justice. Instead,they chose to highlight the CM’s response of permitting an investigation into his son-in-law,who is said to have presented himself to the police. Ali Imran was subsequently arrested under Section 109 even though lawyers believe it should have been under Section 367 since torture and kidnapping was involved. When the case was presented in court,the magistrate sent Imran to jail on a 14 day judicial remand. According to his legal counsel,Imran did not send his guards against the bakery employee. Since this fact was proved by the investigative report,Imran’s counsel requested for bail for his client. It is interesting to keep in mind that the guards are said to have changed their statement,now claiming that the attack was due to a personal feud between Zafar Hussain (guard) and Irfan. At the same time,some PML-N leaders claimed that the guards acted in their own accord when Irfan allegedly misbehaved with daughter of the CM. In other words,the idea of engagement was entirely that of the guards. Despite these conflicting statements,which are reason enough to consider a cover up,the magistrate decided to allow a bail request for Imran. Sadly,there was no legal representation to protect the rights of Irfan. It was the state’s responsibility to provide a lawyer for him if he could not afford one. Instead of letting the case take its course through the normal legal process,efforts to bypass it are being suspected. Reports claim that the bakery owner refuses to give a public statement and asserts that the matter has been resolved internally. The state must compensate Irfan for the mental and psychological trauma that he had to face in doing honest work. Otherwise,there is a risk that this trauma could transform into a deep resentment against the rich and powerful which could one day become uncontrollable in the form of extremists,criminals and sociopaths. The CM’s family is not the only one enjoying privileges and exemptions from the law. Former prime minister Gilani’s sons,for instance,had serious corruption cases registered against them but so far they haven’t been convicted. CDA Chief’s son assaulted a mother and her son for merely blocking his path but no one dared to stop him. The feudal mentality that pervades in our leaders serves their interest at the cost of public development and advancement. Perhaps this is why infrastructure development is dominant in the home cities of the leaders while other cities remain neglected. Public schools and hospitals suffer from a similar fate since these are not used by the rulers themselves. Our Civil Society must engage in efforts to create realization and awareness regarding human dignity and honor. It should fight for the rights of the underprivileged members of our society. The lawyers who were so vocal at various stages of political movements should also speak for people like Irfan who got humiliated by the CM’s son in law. This time it was Irfan a bakery employee…next time it could be anyone of us!