Apparently, it is the mob that defines the current narrative of Pakistan – a narrative that is nurtured by our ruling ideas. We have been placed under the virtual siege of these mobs that are injected with primitive passions.
And irrespective of how they deal with the lynching of Mashal Khan on Abdul Wali Khan University campus in Mardan on Thursday, there is little hope that any serious attempt will now be made to understand the present drift of Pakistani society. An incident of unbearable bestiality can only be a brief distraction when the nation is breathless with excitement over politics.
I do not want to dwell on Mashal Khan’s merciless killing in detail because it is so painful. What has emerged is that the allegations of blasphemy against him were unfounded. The media has discovered a young man who was sensitive and thoughtful, responding emotionally to what he perceived as wrong and unjust.
For once, this senseless abuse of the blasphemy laws has prompted some action on the part of the authorities. The media has shared the civil society’s outrage. It was not immediate but political figures found time to condemn the tragedy. In the provincial assembly session on Friday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak announced that a judicial inquiry is to be held.
Imran Khan, the leader of the party that governs the province in which the incident took place, chose the brevity of Twitter to send his message: “Am in touch with KP IG since last night on condemnable lynching of student in Mardan. Firm action necessary. Law of jungle can’t prevail”. Yes, but there is no hint here of any serious deliberation on issues that are involved.
There has also been a focus on the use and impact of social media and how the fanatics pursue their targets in the shadowy digital domain. The simple exercise of freedom of expression is becoming a hazard. It may even be life-threatening when your views are progressive and secular. We have seen some moves in this regard involving high functionaries that have the intimations of vigilante justice.
Mashal Khan had complained about a false account in his name. Some reports conveyed incredible information that blasphemous comments were posted in his name after he had been killed. There are other indications that he may have been framed – for whatever reasons. Still, such was the frenzy of the mob that killed him that, according to a police officer, it “planned to set the body of the deceased on fire”.
Because I have been writing a weekly column for many years, I feel constrained to recycle a number of my thoughts and formulations. Even when I must use the latest headlines or personal encounters in the context of seminars and conferences, there is a sense of continuity in the affairs that I monitor as a journalist. The pity of it is that every time there is some scope for an advancement or improvement in some area, the expectations are generally not realised.
That is how our society, as I see it, is continuing to deteriorate. Again, I find evidence of this decline in what I read and what I see and what I learn through conversations with important people. Ideally, the media and the institutes of higher learning should be exploring this territory in a problem-solving mode. We know that this is not happening.
Being a media person, I confess that at least the broadcast media is becoming a part of the problem. As for our colleges and universities, the situation seems even worse. Mashal Khan, after all, was killed by post-graduate students of a university named after a progressive and secular leader. A violent clash had taken place on the campus of Punjab University about a month ago and I had written about the “desertification of the campus”.
While a heinous crime like the lynching of Mashal Khan remains exceptional, mob violence is not that infrequent. Leaving aside some major attacks on minority communities on allegations of blasphemy, mob violence is not that rare. Vehicles involved in fatal accidents are almost ritually set on fire. So much more harrowing are incidents when alleged robbers, seized by a mob, are brutally beaten, sometimes to death. I may also refer to the video of those two brothers who were lynched in Sialkot some years ago.
In my view, the state of our society is amply reflected in our collective behaviour. Traffic provides an excellent mirror of our societal disequilibrium. Last week, there was a massive traffic jam on the Super Highway between Karachi and Hyderabad. Just because a heavy vehicle had stalled on a track, chaos was created that lasted for about ten hours. A great writer or filmmaker could draw a classic out of this incident to portray how human folly or lack of civility can disrupt thousands of lives.
What we have is a picture of gradual breakdown in terms of what ordinary citizens have to suffer and how they behave themselves. There are various facts that are relevant when we paint a portrait of Pakistani society. For instance, last week the Pakistan Medical Society said that depression in the country was much higher than the world average while its incidence was alarmingly greater in urban areas.
Professional assessments tell us that about 50 million people suffer from common mental disorders but there are only 400 trained psychiatrists in the country. We also know that about half the children in the country are growing up with stunted minds because of lack of nutrition. The tally of such debilitating statistics can be long, indeed.
However, I get more worried about our moral and intellectual deprivations. Within the confines of religious extremism, intolerance and orthodoxy that are enforced by some sections of the state, the human material that we have is losing its capacity to deal with the challenges that we confront as a society. So, what do our political leaders and rulers intend to do to make Pakistan a civilised country with a modern system of government?
In the midst of all this gloom, I could refer to Malala Yousafzai. She was in news this week, having been nominated as the youngest-ever United Nations’ Messenger of Peace and was so designated in a New York ceremony on Monday. This should make us happy but a very large number of people in Pakistan – those who invoke religion all the time – hate her. And this is one more measure of what we are.
The writer is a senior journalist.
Email: ghazi_salahuddinhotmail.com