Whither the rule of law?

EDITORIAL: There is nothing worse for parents than to see a child suffer, let alone to be gunned down right before their eyes , as did the father of Hayat Baloch , a BSc student of Karachi University from Turbat in Baluchistan. Both the father and son were picking fruit in a date palm orchard when an IED targeted at Frontier Corps vehicles went off, resulting in injuries to three personnel, including a non-commissioned officer. Scouring the area for the culprits some FC men came across the young man. He was dragged away and shot eight times ignoring the father's pleas to save his son. The appalling incident might have remained unbeknown to public had a video depicting the distraught family's grieving and helplessness not gone viral on social media. The suspect has since been handed over to police where during an identification parade held on Wednesday in a Kech prison, the father identified the suspect three times.

Unfortunately, ordinary people's lives count for nothing in this country. Extra-judicial killings may be more widespread in Baluchistan but they are not uncommon in other parts of the country, either. This abhorrent practice goes on because of a culture of impunity. It may be recalled that about two years ago, three members of a family - a man, his wife and their teenage daughter - along with a friend were shot to death in their car by CTD personnel near Sahiwal as the family's three small children looked on in horror. The Punjab police claimed it to be an armed encounter based on intelligence. It later turned out that none of the victims carried arms and were killed in cold blood. Ordering a transparent inquiry into the killings, Prime Minister Imran Khan had vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. CTD officials suspected of involvement in the bloody incident were arrested. But eventually they all went scot-free on the pretext of having obtained pardon from the victims' next of kin. No less disturbing is the January 2018 high profile murder in Karachi of an aspiring model, Naqeebullah Mehsud, along with three others at the hands of 'encounters specialist' the then SSP Rao Anwar, sparking protests by his family and rights activists. The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement also launched a campaign to seek justice. Relentless public protests led to the formation of a committee, comprising senior police officials, to investigate the case. The committee found Naqeebullah innocent and that the police had killed him and others in a fake encounter. Yet nothing came out of the exercise. More than two years on, despite his alleged involvement in as many as 444 extrajudicial killings, Anwar walks free on bail making a mockery of the justice system.

Sad as it is rule of law remains an alien concept in this democracy. Soon after the present outrage the FC South issued a long statement, saying the killer of Hayat Baloch would surely face the consequences of his crime; and that such incidents would not be allowed to happen in future. FC IG Maj-Gen Sarfraz Ali also visited Hayat's home to condole with his family and offer the assurance that justice would be done. We can only hope these assurances are to be backed by action.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020