Adil Najam
This graphic video of the brutal murder of 19 year of Sarfraz Shah being confronted and shot dead by Rangers – supposedly because he was a robber refusing to surrender – is only the latest in a string of state and societal resort to violence that makes one wonder if we have gone totally mad: Lynchings in Sialkot, disappearances and killings in Balochistan, shaming of protesters in Rawalpindi, vigilante justice in Karachi, shootings over load-shedding in Multan, bombings of shrines in Lahore, slaying of a woman Minister in Gujranwala, slaughter of a Christian Minister in Islamabad, and a culture of anger and a validation of violence everywhere, including and most horrendously by those who are supposed to be the custodians of our safety and security.
We are including the graphic video of the brutal murder of Sarfraz Shah, but after the ‘fold’. Reader discretion is required. But if you can bear to watch it, then do so. Because it is well past time that we stop ignoring the rot that threatens our every pore.
What can one do except hold ones head in shame and sadness, and ask oneself: Have we gone totally mad?
Despite the anger and angst that swells within each vein, I would like to believe that we have not. I still believe in Pakistan and Pakistanis. Maybe I do so because I have no option but to believe so. But more than that I do so because I know that even though the insanity is all around me, there is even more disgust and dismay at this insanity. But it is no longer enough to show disgust and dismay. We must speak up – as so many actually are. And that is because I believe that we still have it within ourselves to rise against and reject this violence. If we do not, then who will?
*”real time threat tests the metal of a person”
@ Mazhar
it is true that a real time threats a real metal of a person
But don’t you think you are painting a very pathetic picture of humanity by saying no one will stand up for justice if one’s own life is in threat?
You mean there are not people who will take the bullet but will not side with brutality and justice.
Also, be careful. when you remind others of their bloody history please take a minute and peep in your own collar.
There is no nation on the face of this earth that can stand on a high pedestal and absolve itself of gross violations and atrocities against human kind.
Yes in USA and west in general everything happens….yes you can argue their democarcy ends at their own doors….but you have to agree that by and large they are AT LEAST sincere with their own people. by and large they provide justice to people inside their own national boundaries.
yes a cop might use undue force in USA. but then he cant escape the justice system. They might have equally bad people but they have STRONG institutions.
Also, in my experience in west people stand up for values. If something is going wrong in usa there are always people who will say its wrong and raise voice against it. These people are more civilized then we are. If this video was abot some cop in USA. trust me by now he will be behind the bars. what happened in Pakistan? are these rangers under arrest?
There is no law and order in Pakistan. people’s values are deteriorating everyday under the pretext that they are afraid and thus there should be no excuse if like weasles or vultures we feed on each others flesh. Only we can do something about it. blaming usa for its history will not fix our house.
@Petrini
Yes. Very easy for you to type all of this. I know your country’s history and how your ancestors barbarically massacred the Native Americans, brought in Africans as slaves by the shiploads, and how your elites had your citizens fight with each other, and are now making them fight in other countries. Anyhow, it is very easy for you to type all of this and tell me that I am wrong to try to preserve my own life. It would be interesting to see what you would actually do if you were in this situation, when your life was at stake and in danger every single minute of your life. Whether you would be a dog risking to get shot by taking a more active role in remedying the situation or be the sheep and save your own ass from being killed.
“I have to prepare my mind and keep telling myself “the Rangers are right, the Rangers are right,”
–WOW, you are incredible! You are every military dictator’s dream! With citizens like you, staging military coups should really be a piece of cake.
Those rangers are human beings just like you, they are not perfect and the CAN be wrong, and WERE VERY WRONG in this particular case. But as long as you guys are only concerned with how not to piss off the trigger-happy soldier and don’t even bother to think about how to make your police/army more accountable to CIVILIANS (who, by the way, pay for their damn salaries), shit like this will continue to happen.
“You cannot understand this rationalization process because you are sitting in the safety of your civilized country”
–Yes, and for that I am grateful to the many people before me who fought so that we can have civil rights and liberties, a Constitution that upholds the right of every citizen to have a fair trial, and all that good stuff… Or perhaps you thought our societies were somehow miraculously endowed with all the liberties they now grant? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but it was a lot of work and in many respects there still is a lot of work to do even here. But it would have never happened if not for some men who, long ago, decided to stand up and say: the rangers are NOT right, the people in power are NOT right when they dispose of people’s lives as if they are cattle. This is NEVER right, regardless of circumstances! I’m really thankful they didn’t use your rationalization process.
“This is why I have to figure out what the boy did wrong, so as to not repeat the same mistakes and end up bleeding to death, this time with no one making a video of me or anyone ever finding out about it.”
I’m sure there must have been another sentence there were you said you all had to figure out what the rangers did wrong, and what you all need to do so that the rangers never repeat that mistake. I’m sure it got lost in the posting process somehow.
@Petrini
Yes. You really don’t understand. How can you say that I am not outraged, when I have not been able to sleep properly since I saw this video. Ever since I have seen the video, I have been thinking, “What if I was place of the boy? What would I have done to avoid getting shot?” In doing so, I have to keep telling myself what the “proper” way of behaving would be if I am ever confronted by Rangers. This is why I have to prepare my mind and keep telling myself “the Rangers are right, the Rangers are right,” because one wrong move in front of them, and bang, I am the one getting shot next.
You cannot understand this rationalization process because you are sitting in the safety of your civilized country, commenting on something that is not part of your society, and you know that there is no chance that you will be in the same situation as the boy in the video. Unfortunately for me, I can be in this very same situation the next time I step out of my house. This is why I have to figure out what the boy did wrong, so as to not repeat the same mistakes and end up bleeding to death, this time with no one making a video of me or anyone ever finding out about it.
“How can you sit at your home and pass such a big judgment on me, when you don’t even know who I am?”
–It’s very easy. Any decent person out have been absolutely outraged about this murder. You weren’t. I really don’t need to know anything else about you.
“You don’t know how inefficient our system is and how there is virtually no communication or understanding between law enforcement agencies.”
–You seem to be very good at finding was to explain how a human life is suddenly not worth as much. I guess murders can just tell themselves that when they will be asked to account for their deeds, they will be able to say that they killed the man because the system was inefficient. I guess when times are really bad, people get a license to treat each other like animals.
“The Rangers should have called an ambulance, but our law enforcement agencies are so haphazard, that no such protocols exist.”
–So you need protocol to call an ambulance when a man is bleeding to death? Are you reading your own posts afterwards to see how ridiculous you sound? You persist in claiming the rangers thought he was a threat, despite not having one bit of a problem standing all around him. If they thought he had a bomb how come nobody searched him after he was shot? He was clearly still alive and able to press a button. On top of that you blame their actions and in-actions on lack of proper protocol? I had no idea you need protocol to be a decent human being. I guess that explains you and the others as well. You must also not have been taught proper protocol.
“I am not sure why the Rangers decided to register a false case against the boy.”
–Well, perhaps it was because even they, living in a country where they know the military gets away with almost anything, even they realized they went too far.
“So don’t say that you understand the Rangers, the boy and their actions, as you simply cannot because of your limited point of view, perception, and knowledge.”
–You are entirely correct! I never said I understood their actions. I cannot! Neither can I understand anybody who, after watching a man being shot point blank and left to bleed to death, comes and says: “you don’t really understand…”.
@Petrini: “You… like to keep the pretense of civility and the appearance of moral, just, and decent human beings. Between him and you, I am more afraid of you. At least with him I know he is rabid. But you may fool people into believing you actually are hoping for some justice and sanity for the country, when you yourselves would not do any better if you had the power.”
Hahahahah. You, sir, are a class act. How can you sit at your home and pass such a big judgment on me, when you don’t even know who I am?
You wrote, “Your harping on the “all the facts and background” bullshit is an insult to any person with some moderate intelligence.”
I urge you to come and live in Karachi for a few days and see what is actually going on here. Wander about in the streets and talk to the people, police officers, and rangers. Because right now, you DON’T have all the “facts and backgrounds” about this issue to make any educated guess as to what is really happening here. Please do not tell me about my personality when you don’t know who I am and what I have been through.
You don’t know how inefficient our system is and how there is virtually no communication or understanding between law enforcement agencies. It is not like you see in 24, where every agency and officer is coordinated with each other. In the video, the boy was caught and searched by the local guard (who had no authority to officially arrest him) of the area where he was apprehended and then turned over to the Rangers. Nothing was communicated to the Rangers and they had no idea if he had been searched or what he had on him. They told him to get on the ground and surrender so that they could search and arrest him. The boy failed to comply, and instead reached out for their guns, and charged one of the soldiers. At this point, the suspect appeared extremely hostile to them.
The Rangers should have all tackled him and pinned him down to arrest him, but given the circumstances, they probably panicked when the guy charged at them. This is why the man first shot him in the leg and then shot off his hand, which shows the training that these Rangers have in dealing with suicide bombers, as blowing their hand off means they won’t be able to trigger a detonator.
The thing is, Mr. Petrini, that you have accused me of defending the Rangers and advocating this heinous act of shooting the guy. The truth is, if you read all my previous posts, I am merely trying to analyze the video and giving my explanation as to why the Rangers were compelled to shoot the boy, as I seriously do not believe that the Rangers would have shot the boy for fun, especially when there was a camera right there shooting them.
Analyzing the video takes insight, which you can only get after you have lived here and you have picked up on catching and interpreting the various nuances of people and their actions. You have no idea how scared people are in Karachi, as various incidents of shootings, killings, and bombings occur without any warning and anyone can die at any time. Just yesterday, a 10-year old boy was shot dead when a stray bullet hit him.
I am not sure why the Rangers decided to register a false case against the boy. Once they realize that the boy was not a real threat, perhaps they panicked, perhaps they thought they thought it easier to lie. As far as leaving the boy to bleed to death, once again, it show the inefficiency of our system. The Rangers should have called an ambulance, but our law enforcement agencies are so haphazard, that no such protocols exist. Even if they do, they are not properly followed and the Rangers probably are not even aware of them.
But what about the camera man who kept shooting? Why could he not have called an ambulance or called for help? Why did he not stop shooting, drop his camera, and take the boy to the hospital himself? There are so many questions still left unanswered, and all we can do to make sense of this event is to analyze the data and evidence that we have and try to piece together what might have happened and why.
All I am doing is giving an analysis of the video in trying to explain how the actions of the boy could have been the provocation that led the Rangers to shootI am doing this by drawing upon my experiences, knowledge, and insights after living in Karachi for over 32 years and experiencing many things first-hand.
And all you are doing is sitting 3000 miles away, passing judgment on a name that you don’t even realize is a pun and claiming to comprehend, sympathize with, empathize with, and blame people that you clearly do not understand. So don’t say that you understand the Rangers, the boy and their actions, as you simply cannot because of your limited point of view, perception, and knowledge.
All bad things in Pakistan have started happening after the start of suicide attacks. the times are to BLAME; otherwise we are very forgiving, just, and balanced people. we are just a bunch of nice folks :D
maybe you fool foreigners with this story line but atrocities in Pakistan committed by those in power is nothing new specially by those who wear uniforms….maybe a quick tour of history is needed
why even go to history….the game of gore and blood that our military has been playing with its people since last 20 years is out in open.
what we see in this video is just a tip of a very ugly iceberg.
But, yes everything in pakistan is because of suicide attacks…it is just a side effect.
As is the sentencing of women to rape by jirgas a MINOR side effect of ptsd caused by security situation in Pakistan.
Rampant corruption is also a recent development after drone attacks
Likewise the lynching of two brothers in faislabad was also a side effect of suicide bombing….
e thing is situational in pakistan. nothing is a personal or an individual responsibility
we always have external factors to blame
raw mossad taliban usa and now situations….its just that he times are bad
maybe pakistan may sub pagal is liyain hain kai loadshedding ki wajah say garmi bohut hai…or yai garmi ser ko ja charhee haii (maybe everyone is getting crazy in paksitan, cz its very hot over here and temperature has melted our sane neurons in the brain)….brain damage
I have not watched the video….but why was the victim left there to bleed to death….? cause there was still a doubt that he will pull out a bomb out of his injured groin? or maybe his blood had explosive powers?
Jungle ka kanoon for junglees….where every atrocity can be justified…
there are no universal principals that we uphold for everyone….
the person in hand, the situation in hand, the color of the uniform, the language one speaks…….these considerations decide what is right and wrong……
fear and paranoia is no justification for brutality by our armed forces.
In our human history, many atrocities have been committed under the politics of fear…..but we choose to ignore this data
if in fear we can’t be humans and hold ourselves accountable to some basic principles then there never will be peace.
cause then someone will always find a way to convince us that we are in danger, should be afraid, and thus need oppression, boot in the ass, and jungle ka kanoon.