A few days ago I highlighted this wrong, but today after after seeing photos of policemen mercilessly beating an unarmed lady, I am again left speechless at this shameful violence.
We at ATP have long worried about the senselessness of the violence (physical, psychological, verbal, social) that seems to keep growing in our society. All violence is bad, violence by the state is especially disturbing.
We strongly condemn this police brutality. Whoever is ordering such treatment of protesters is definitely taking people away from the ideals of Pakistan. How do you expect this poor lady (or her family or anyone seeing this) to trust the state after getting such a thrashing at the hands of the states law-enforcers? Those who are responsible to safeguard our dignity.
Police reform is the cry of the day. They absolutely need a crash course in human dignity and how to tackle protesters in a civilized way. Mercilessly beating ladies (or on anyone as a matter of fact) is inhuman and not part of our culture, or of any culture. No matter what one thinks about the protesters or what they are protesting, this violence by the police is wrong and shameful. We all must condemn it.
Police or their higherups should see how much anger is building up in people who are not afraid of confronting them with bare hands. This anger needs a channel such as allowing peaceful protest or it will spill out in wrong kind of violence as it probably happened the other day in Multan.
Whether we agree with protesters or not, peaceful protest is their right. Treat humans – all humans, everywhere – with dignity. If we do not, then our own dignity is compromised.
Perhaps, but given the charged-up atmosphere and the pent-up frustration going back 60 years, I should think that you would forgive the protesters the odd broken barricade… :)
One other thing, it really is quite pathetic how Musharraf has to be dragged into everything, and very intellectually dishonest of som eto ignore the fact that the issue of police brutality is not one of Musharraf’s making, but has existed in Pakistani society for long – including during the “not so Golden years” of the “Great BB and NS”. Blaming Musharaf does nothing but hijack the discussion from the real issue – how to reform the police system and make it both autonomous and accountable.
The same thing has been done with Terrorism in Pakistan – with people hiding behind “blame Musharraf” rather than accepting the fact that we have people in this country who would kill innocents and challenge the writ of the state to impose their evil and medieval ways. So instead of figuring out how to present a united front to the terrorism monster, we have to listen to canards like “democracy will solve everything” and “stop killing our Muslim brothers”. Pathetic and intellectually dishonest all of it!
Topsy-turvy Paksitan
Yesterday I was reading Richard III by Shakespear and there were few lines that depicted a true picture of Pakistan. A society where noble, honest and integral people such as Aitizaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmed Kurd, Munir malik, Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudary and his fellow judges are either behind bars or put under house arrest and all sycophants, hypocrites, dishonest, corrupt and law breakers are holding the heighest offices in the land of pure. I deliberatly missed out the names of sycophants, hypocrites, dishonests, corrupts and law breakers because the list will be endless.
Let me share those line with you to understand the travesty of justice.
The world is gone so bad
That wrens make pray where eagles dare not perch.
Since every jack became a gentleman
There’s many a gentle person made a jack.
(1.3.69-72)
However I for one longing for day to end this drama with Musharraf saying,
A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!
(5.4.7-10)
http://uk.360.yahoo.com/imranbhatt
Shaji says:
“The protesters broke the first barricade after which the police got active and started pelting them from afar. Protesters responded in kind which was followed by tear gas shelling.”
Why did the protesters break the first barricade? The other day there was a story of how lawyers ransacked the quarters of one of their colleagues who “dared” to swear an oath under the PCO. The protectors were just as much at fault for “breaking the law”, and inciting the police, as were the police for resorting to excessive “lathi charges”.
The protesters had the option of keeping their protest peaceful, as Shaji points out it was until the first barricade was broken. If they choose not to, don’t go around whining about it. You can only expect “dignity” if you offer it first, and the protesters did not.
PS: Are there any pictures that show the women actually being hit – because all I see here are people with their Lathis raised, not actually hitting – and who is to say the hits were not mere taps? Just curious on this point.
Disgusting and reprehensible…
Not to hijack the thread but did anyone else read about Gulgee’s death in mysterious circumstances? Apparently his body alongside his wife and servant were discovered by Amin Gulgee, also a famous artist… I’m not a fan of Gulgee finding patrons among the Powers that Be, but he was an important artist, a very likable person and there was a definite humility and innocence in the way he talked… it is quite a loss:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7151914.stm