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?
Only someone from similar background could defend this “skinny boy” who was neither skinny nor a boy. According to this commentator, this was a “vived” video yet he does not see man from a boy?
One ALWAYS finds some one defending criminals and this is no exception.But thankfully saner element will eventually prevail and the saner element includes persons like Yasir Hasan and others mentioned earlier.
The boy might have been innocent, guilty, carrying a real gun, fake gun, or whatever. Looking at the full video (not the one posted above), you will see that before being shot, he tries repeatedly to touch the ranger’s gun (See this video: http://tinyurl.com/6do48x7). In any country, any law enforcement agency, if a suspect tries to touch an officer’s gun, the officers can shoot the suspect at their discretion, as touching an officer’s gun is seen as hostile action. Also, looking at the footage, one sees that the ranger first shot him in the leg, then took out his arm. This shows the kind of training that they have, keeping in mind suicide bombers. Taking out the hand means that they were trying to make sure that he does not blow himself up.
I know many of you would argue… “but he was only a skinny boy with a fake gun,” or “he was a mobile snatcher and not a suicide bomber…” The thing is, we all know this in retrospect. How do we know that the Rangers in the video had the same information? So many incidents of suicide bombings have been happening all over Pakistan, including Karachi, that you cannot blame the law enforcement officers to be on the edge and highly suspicious of anybody trying to reach for their guns and making suspicious gestures.
I am not condoning the killing; I am just saying that it is important to understand the full story and review all the facts, conditions, background, and circumstances of the issue before passing any judgment for either side of the issue. From what I have seen, the boy should have complied, not resisted the Rangers and should have surrendered instead of trying to touch their guns and making hostile gestures (e.g. charging towards the ranger, as seen in the full video). By acting this way, he provoked the Rangers into shooting him.
However, what is apparent from the video is that the Rangers are not trained to handle the aftermath of such an operation. If they felt that the suspect was a threat and needed to be subdued by shooting, they should have immediately called for an ambulance after shooting, instead of leaving him there to bleed to death and registering a false case against him.
They kill the blasphemy-accused and people garland the murderer, why not then go mad for killing a robber caught red-handed. One has to go through the experience of being robbed and humiliated and then seek the support of law to realize that it was better to fight and kill or be killed instead of reporting the case to so called law-enforcing authorities and the courts. A robber being a blasphemer against humanity and an out-law does not deserve any sympathy or legal right. It is indeed criminal madness to have any sympathy for a robber caught red-handed.
You have indeed gone mad. And your madness is this: no matter how clear it is that an horrible act was committed by members of your own police/army forces, there will ALWAYS be people among you who will find excuses for them.
Some of you here said one should “see the other side of the story”. What other side is there? The video is very clear: at least 6 armed and well built military men were surrounding a skinny youth. At the time of the shooting he is very clearly NOT ARMED (he was just dragged there, army guy hand in his hair and all). They could have easily subdued him, arrested him, taken him to court. There was absolutely no threat from the guy, so the western media reported things quite accurately: an unarmed and possibly innocent of any crime (until proven in court) young man was shot point blank and left there to bleed to death, while crying for help.
This case shows clearly how deep your madness goes: it wasn’t American troops that could be blamed, it wasn’t taliban that could again be blamed on some third party of choice, it was your own people. So naturally, the blame had to go on the only person left: the victim.
Looking at the some of the comments I think “we actually have gone mad!”