Waiting for justice

The whole nation is shocked to see the now viral video of the Sahiwal ‘encounter’ in which CTD officials can be seen shooting at a car. Four people were killed, including a child, after the CTD officials acted on a tip-off.

If the operation was conducted on information, officials could have burst the tires of the car or apprehended the people from the car. According to the surviving minor, his father, Khalil, had asked the officials to search them. The police cannot justify attacking the vehicle in such a belligerent way. No words or condemnation can make up for the loss of three children who saw their parents being shot.

Nasir Soomro

Karachi

*****

The Sahiwal incident is unfortunate and eye-opening. So far no evidence confirms that the family showed any kind of resistance. Quite a few police officers of our country are notorious for extrajudicial killings. The abuse of power is so strong that even the tabdeeli government is unable to tackle it.

The point is that in our country culprits are never punished. Those who were responsible for the Model Town incident are still at large. The culprits involved in the Kasur child molestation cases are roaming free. The rapist and killer of the three-year-old Faryal has to date not been caught. Even the KP police which is lauded for its exceptional performance is still unable to solve the case. The same is the case with the Sindh and Balochistan police. How can one think of a Naya Pakistan when lawlessness still prevails in all parts of the country? These incidents will continue to happen unless the authorities hand out exemplary punishments to the culprits. I, on behalf of overseas Pakistanis, demand a transparent and impartial trial of all those accused in these incidents at the earliest.

Ghufran Jadoon

Ontario, Canada

*****

After receiving criticism from all quarters, the authorities concerned ordered the formation of a JIT for a thorough probe. Even though it is good to note that the authorities have taken immediate action, there is nothing they can do to hide the failure of government officials who destroyed a happy family. Can the government bring the deceased back? A boy and his two sisters have become orphans because of the carelessness of a few officials.

Monetary compensation and terming the death of three people a ‘collateral damage’ have only deepened the children’s wounds. What the government can do is to hand out strict punishment to those who are involved in this act of brutality so that such incidents never happen again.

Rafeeque Ahmed

Karachi