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.
Absolutely shocking and incredibly tragic! You see and hear a lot of anti-women sentiment in Pakistani society. However, to announce one’s hate for women on such a public platform by committing such a violent and heinous crime and then showing no remorse is just unbelievable.
I hope the media asks why the murderous Maulana was allowed to walk free when he himself admitted to killing six “immoral” women. Those policemen and lawmakers are also party to this crime because of their negligence and failure to do their respective jobs.
May the victim rest in peace.
But what about our (Un)judicial system? I have set this lunatic scott free after 4 previous murders and several attempted murders!! I strongly believe along with this animal….those in involved in the judicial process (his lawyers, the judges…the whole bench) should be put to trail for the murders.
A alleged victim of Karo Kari gets no justice in this country….why should those involved in this case be spared?
Samdani
From your post:
[quote comment="34997"]
The mullahs disown the act, and the seculars claim a shaheed. Niether seems in the smallest bit concerned about the human side that you were writing about. .[/quote]
Since I am the only person claiming her a Shaheed…(The other secular has started to sing the Quran since then)… is it really presumptuous of me to think that you were referring to me?
Let us put an end to this mockery. This is NOT about secularism. I know many religious minded folk who are equally outraged by this foul murder …. so how is this a Secularism v. Islam issue?
Yes… now wouldn’t that be better than Banning Islam from Pakistan as you so kindly suggested before taking a hard right?
However your emotional appeal to religious zealotry be taking this tone “oh my god how did he compare her to Sahabas” is hardly a logical one- consider:
1. You had a problem with my reference to her as a Shaheed because she didn’t know she was about to be killed.
2. Using your logic in one- the Omar Osman and Ali are not Shaheeds either.
Now stop making a mockery of this thread by indulging in this useless discussion. If you don’t agree with my description of her as a Shaheed, you are free to hold that opinion but no need to try and force me to give up mine which I have clearly shown is a logical one given your own logic…because I do consider Osman, Omar and Ali Shaheeds just like I consider Zil-e-Huma Usman a shaheed.
Let us pray for the soul of the departed.
This is ridiculous folks. Stop it for god’s sake.
[quote comment="35001"]Samdani mian,
Have you met me? Do you know for a fact that I did not care about the human side? That is rather presumptuous of you isn’t it? [/quote]
NO. The presumptiousness is from YOUR side to assume that you are so important that anything anyone writes here is about you. Its not.
Thats a great answer YHL, thank you. Now she stands with sahabas, lucky she…lets start an official holiday on this day in Pakistan.
Moeen Bhatti,
“how is she a shaheed?”
I gave you the answer but you did not bother to read…
The same way Hazrat Umar RA, Hazrat Usman RA and Hazrat Ali AS are SHAHEEDS.