Adil Najam
Report from News (21 February, 2007):
A fanatic shot dead Punjab Minister for Social Welfare Zill-e-Huma Usman “for not adopting the Muslim dress code” at a political meeting here at the PML House on Tuesday. A party worker caught the accused, Maulvi Sarwar, and handed him over to the Civil Lines Police. Huma was at the PML House to hold an open Kachehry. As she was busy meeting the PML women activists, the accused sitting in the audience approached her with a pistol and pumped bullets into her head from a point-blank range… The accused, M Sarwar Mughal - popularly known as Maulvi Sarwar - is a resident of Baghbnapura in Gujranwala. Two police stations of Gujranwala and the Tibbi police of Lahore had booked Maulvi Sarwar for the murder of six women, but he was acquitted for want of sufficient evidence. His alleged spree of killing “immoral” women started in the year 2002. In his confession statement before the police on Tuesday, he said he was opposed to women holding public office. He added that after he read in the newspaper that the minister was holding an open court, he decided to kill her.
Sometimes you just wonder why! Sometimes you just want to give up!
I have been feeling sad and numb and down and dejected all day. I heard about the brutal murder of Punjab Minister Zile Huma Usman’s murder by a crazed fanatic some 10 hours ago. And I have been in utter shock.
I have tossed and turned. I had thought earlier that I would not even write about it. What is the use? When a society goes so mad that a woman is killed just because she is a woman, what can a blog post do. Just ignite more silly debates; more childish heckling; more immature point-scoring; trying to show how smart you are; or, more likely, trying to show how idiotic others are; reaffirming your own belief that you are always right, and everyone else is always wrong; single-track chest thumping; self-righteous finger-pointing. No remorse. No compassion; not a word of sympathy; not a shred of caring. All there is, is anger; getting high on our own anger; anger for its own sake; getting so very angry that you even forget what or who you are angry at.
But now I do want to write about this. We, as a society, have some serious thinking to do.
What killed Zille Huma Usman? Not religion. Not madness. But anger. Uncontrolled anger.
A society that seems to be fueled by anger. No conversation is seen to be legitimate unless it is an angry conversation. And the solution to everything seems to be violence. ‘Kill the infidels’ say the believers. ‘Kill the mullahs’ shout the modernists. ‘Hang them by the gallows.’ ‘Put them in boats and let them sink.’ ‘Death is what they deserve.’ We have heard it all right here. I suspect we will hear it again. That dastardly, self-righteous anger. This violence in the language, as Zille Huma so tragically found, becomes the violence of bloodshed all too easily. Today it was in the name of religion. Tomorrow it will be something else.
So, do me a favor folks. Give her some dignity. Hold your anger. Think about what happened. Ponder. And pause. For the sake of whatever is sacred to you; please pause!
An innocent woman’s life has already been taken by our inability to put a lid on our passions and our anger. Let us please not make a tamasha out of her death by making her a poster child for whatever ’cause’ we are parading for right now.
The attack on Sherry Rahman (who is from the same “cabal” certain other “cabal” hates) was absolutely abhorrent. Thank God she is survived. However, I am not sure why Adnan Siddiqui takes everything to be an attack on him. Should the death of a woman for being a woman not be posted here? Is that what he wants? I suppose this is from the same train of thought which considers airing of views the same as terrorism that kills innocent people.
Attack on Sherry Rahman:
http://www.ppp.org.pk/Human%20Rights/17-2-2007.htm l
This news was not caught because the person who attack on Sherry had no relation with religion or maybe it would be highlited soon if police finds any keyword like “religion”,”islam”, or “mullah”. Secularist loonies would be desprate enogh to pollute this thread as well. Just waiting…
adnan siddiqi — the man’s name was “maulana sarwar” - err, what do you expect people to say by the way — he is known to have killed several women before because he did not approve of their lifestyles — he was out becuase there was no evidence to convict him — so you think there is no link with over religiousity/zealotry and the man’s actions in this case? haha
adil — yes writing on this blog is hardly to achieve much since your readership is limited — however, instead of writing for your blog why dont you send a piece for our pages — do it right away and we will carry it soon — we will credit you as the owner of pakistaniat.com
Omar R. Quraishi
Op-ed pages editor
The News
I must say, another controversial thread
[quote post=”583″]What killed Zille Huma Usman? Not religion. Not madness. But anger. Uncontrolled anger.[/quote]
But soon particular cabal will make this thread a religious thread by condemning Mullahs by every means but they wouldn’t say a word about a recent attack on Shery Rehman who was attending some protest. Thanks ATP to continue its tradition by making another thread to give that particular thread an excuse to bash religion.
Dear Adil,
Thank you for this post. I have been very upset about this… there are just so many things that are wrong with us and we have apologists who continue to gloss over these serious ills of our society. I sent a message to several radio stations dedicating “Hum Dekhain Gay” by Faiz to Zile Huma Usman SHAHEED and to the loss of a Pakistan based on rule of law… the first observation that the Quaid made was that Pakistan should protect the LIFE of individual citizens… and now we have this… a woman murdered for being a woman.
Let us put an end to this now. Let us grow up. Let us weed out and clean our society of Mullah Sarwar and ilk.
Let’s see how soon someone says ‘terrorists have no religion’.
Here is news on that. Religion seems to be the motive;
http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/feb2007-daily/21-02-20 07/topst/main3.gif