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?
@ Petrini: “in NORMAL countries the police is encouraged to act with respect for human life. What that means is that if the officer has the opportunity to immobilize the suspect without shooting him/her, the officer should not make use of the firearm.”
According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (http://tinyurl.com/634cbce), 215 incidents of suicide attacks have occurred in Pakistan between July 2007 and July 2010 that killed 3,433 Pakistanis, most of them law enforcement officials. 215 suicide attacks. 215. That’s 1 suicide attack every 5 days. Do you really expect the law enforcement agents to wait and confirm if the suspect is going to blow himself up in front of them or to confirm whether he is a bomber or a mobile thief? The boy in the video clearly touched their guns and made hostile gestures (e.g. charging the soldier). How would you react if you were a Ranger in Karachi and you know that a suicide bomber explodes every 5 days in the country and a suspect acts suspiciously in front of you? Would you try to arrest the man or shoot him to save yourself from being blown up? How much respect for human life would you be willing to provide? Or would you also want to save your own ass?
I am not condoning the killing here, just saying that you should not be so quick to pass judgment before understanding all the facts of the issue, including the background and circumstances of the situation.
@Petrini
I didn’t condone the incident for one moment. What I said that you don’t know the background story since you don’t know local language or conditions.
The guy had a gun and he accepted that in the video. The person who handed him over to the cops also gave them the gun, wrapped in a hanky. And the accused said he was desperate and they should forgive him. And then he went ahead and touched their rifles.
There are dozens of suicide attacks in Pakistan and many cops have lost their lives. True that they are incompetent and did commit a crime in shooting that guy but it does not appear as grave if a person who know things look at it. That’s what the courts are for to try and indict criminals.
It is always amazing that how there are always justifications….
for brutality and street vigilantism, and UNNECESSARY use of force by the law enforcement agencies. There are people among us who will justify murder and rape when they perceive their values or selves being threatened.
The whole notion of justice, humanity, and due diligence is at stake.
What we are condoning is law of jungle and rule of fear. If I feel threatened by someone who i believe is a “criminal” then I can go ahead and kill him piece by piece, torture him or her in any way possible, throw him in an acid tank….and the list is as long as your sadistic imagination…..
Then why complain about drone attacks? why complain about Guontamobay? Then if we can treat our criminals with no mercy…and if we agree that criminals have no place in a justice system….then why do we expect other powers to treat us with justice?
Some people are saying….oh you have never been robbed….if u have been you will not defend this person……well then by this token…..if someone has been wronged they are entitled to use any amount of unnecessary force…..
It is ironic these very people of street justice are the one who complain about what USA did after 9/11
Law of jungle can only be supported by people who believe in might is right and who believe in oppression as long as they hold the rod and wear the boots to kick.
@readinglord: “an out-law does not deserve any sympathy or legal right” –
–you’ve said it beautifully! That underlines perfectly how far from being a state of law your country is, and how much that is the fault of citizens like yourself!
@Mazhar Fakhar: “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”
–I’m not an expert in law enforcement procedures around the world (like yourself) but in NORMAL countries the police is encouraged to act with respect for human life. What that means is that if the officer has the opportunity to immobilize the suspect without shooting him/her, the officer should not make use of the firearm. In this video we see how the guy is dragged by his hair. He was ALREADY in custody. He could have been cuffed or even just immobilized on the ground by two of the other officers way before he touched the gun. Why where the other officers just standing there and letting him touch the gun?
@Khan: “Only someone from similar background could defend this “skinny boy” who was neither skinny nor a boy.”
–You obviously need glasses. Review the video and compare the size of the victim to the size of the soldiers. Also, youth means young person; not the same thing as boy…
“One ALWAYS finds some one defending criminals and this is no exception.”
–Beautifully said, and the reason for that is that in a state of law even criminals deserve the right to a fair trial and to legal defense. Pakistan is obviously not a state of law, but a state of terror and repression, with the open support of people like yourself.
Also, in a NORMAL country a person is innocent until proven guilty in court and vigilante justice is not tolerated. Pakistan is obviously not a normal country, since citizens would rather kill somebody in cold blood for mere conjecture, rather than put political pressure on politicians to reform the corrupt justice system. And then they feel very self-righteous about it (wink, wink).
@Shez: “I am always amused by the judgments passed by Americans when they know nothing about the ground realities.”
–I’m sure it was very hard for your to realize how unlikely it would be for an American with no connection to Pakistan to end up commenting on this blog, so your “quick judgement” is understandable.
That set aside, I fail to see the logic of your post. So if something horrible happened in the US in the ’80s, then it’s ok to have it happen in Pakistan in 2011? From your tone I understand you disapprove of police brutality in the US, performed on citizens of a country that you obviously despise. You must hate your own citizens even more and worship your military, otherwise I cannot understand how you condone something in your own country that you find despicable in another country.
@Petrini
Your comment is truly laughable. I am always amused by the judgments passed by Americans when they know nothing about the ground realities. You don’t know the local language so you can’t understand what is the back story to this incident. You have no idea of the crime rate of Karachi and rampant armed robberies. But you are quick to pass judgement. It is a common trait among you people.
It would not even be mentioned in the media had a cop killed a guy in Harlem in NYC. And mind you, there were hundreds of such shootings during the troubled 1980s. With no media or public outcry. And we all know about the so-called fairness of Western media.