Adil Najam
Everytime I use the word ‘Jahalat’ I seem to invite the wrath of the self-righteous. But do tell me what other word can be used to describe this news story below?
It may seem innocuous when someone half-buries a child in the sand to seek a cure for paralysis from a solar eclipse, but quite another when superstition and misinformation blocks the way for polio vaccination. But what can one say when a life is taken willfully and deliberately?
Back in 2006 we had written about how jahalat murdered 22-year old Shagufta who was axed to death and later burnt by her family, now Mohammad Bashir Kacha, a 70 year old resident of Rahim Yar Khan is dead.
Tell us who the culprit is: Jinn or jahalat?
Here is the full story, as published in The Express Tribune:
RAHIM YAR KHAN: In the Sadiqabad tehsil, a fake peer attempted an exorcism on an old man which led to his death.
In mohallah Jalandharyhan, a 70-year-old man Mohammad Bashir Kacha had been suffering from asthma for several years. According to Dr Shah Nazir at Seikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan, it was also likely that Kacha also suffered from epilepsy and experienced fits of rage. “Locals and neighbours are likely to term such afflictions as a man being possessed when there is a medical explanation for the condition,” he said. Kacha’s sons took him to a pir from Arain Colony for treatment. “He was getting worse and we thought that we needed to do something as soon as possible so we took him to Bukhari,” his 22-year-old son Amjad said. Amjad said that one of his neighbours had recommended that he take his father to Syed Qalandar Abbas Shah Bukhari who usually performed exorcisms and used different herbs for ‘spiritual treatment’.
Kacha was taken to Bukhari who took him into a side room, where he burnt some herbs and tried to get Kacha to inhale the smoke. When the smoke began to agitate Kacha, Bukari began to slap him. “The three djinns were not cooperating and they weren’t reacting to my treatment so I tried to beat them out of him,” Bukhari said, adding that he had deduced that Kacha had been possessed for a very long time. As the pir was hitting Kacha, his sons broke into the room and began hurling shoes at Bukhari. “He was striking blows at our father who is an old man,” Amjad and his brother said, adding that they immediately took their father to the hospital as he had collapsed after the incident. Dr Nazir said that the patient suffered from asthma and the smoke had severely affected him, “The beating only made things worse and the next day, July 10, he died.”
Kacha’s sons refused to file an FIR against Qalandar and have said that they forgive the pir. A neighbor, Hassan said that Kacha’s sons were afraid of the consequences of punishing the pir or having him arrested. “They know that he could easily have one of his djinns haunt them and that is why they are avoiding prosecuting him,” he said. Qalandar said that he regretted the death of the old man and has said that the reason for the death was that his sons weren’t able to afford the ‘payment’ the djinns required to leave the man alone.
“They asked for three goats and when the sons couldn’t afford that, they were willing to settle for three goats heads but the boys didn’t even bring those in. That is why he died,” Qalandar said, adding that he had “tried his best to negotiate with the djinns but they were unwilling to compromise.”
Nope, his sons!
They are the ones who took him to the nut job. Accessories to murder.
True, the blows of the nut job killed the elderly man. However, they left him alone with this nut job. He can easily claim self-defense as the man could have “attacked him”. As crazy as the pir is and as criminal as the pir is, he has a self-defense of being attached by a “mad man” in his own residence.
And I bet this is exactly the reason the sons are not pressing charges against the pir.
But since this is a manslaughter, the police should investigate and file charges against both the sons and the pir. And all of them should spend a lot of time behind bars.
That said, look how ignorant the Express Tribune reporter is, he writes, …also suffered from epilepsy and experienced fits of rage….. Epilepsy is not fits of rage nor causes fits of rage! Just because the reporter is reporting in “git-pit” does not make him any less ignorant about human maladies.
And Adil, not knowing much about the mud there, there can easily be medicinal value to the mud. These kind of things are reported all over the world. Some are real value, others fake. After all, all pharmaceutical stuff has natural “stuff” backing it up. These kind of fixes are no substitute of medicines but if they supplement and support, then by all means, there is nothing wrong with it.
And also, the vaccination has a lot of controversy. I do not subscribe to the “evil” theories but to the “reckless and careless” arguments. Vaccines can go bad and cause damage if not stored or handled properly. In 3rd world conditions, it is a daunting task, especially when you consider that 1st world has issues handling it.
I am not sure what are all the issues of Autism and it’s exponential growth, but there must be a combination of man made and natural issues that have created a nightmare for parents and has destroyed families.
Back to the original issue, when the medicine doctor is away, the witch doctor will play. People have real problems and no one is doing anything about them. People seek solutions to the problems and they will hand on to any solution.
The educated folks in Pakistan love to blame everything on the uneducated and do not accept any responsibility, including the theft of nation’s treasury for their own selfish benefits.
Jahalat. Nirri jahalat.
Lets beat the shit out of this peer and ask him if he really has Djinns, they can come and help him
I agree with Haroon. It was this idiot Pir!
ANd he has the gall to say that he ‘tried his best to negotiate with the djinns but they were unwilling to compromise.’
For God’s sake. Haul him in and set some jinns and chittars on him!!!!
Adil, you ask: Who Killed Mohammad Bashir? Jahalat or Jinns?
The answers is: NIETHER. It was this Pir guy, SYED QALANDAR ABBAS SHAH BUKHARI.