The sanctity of life

The Sixth Commandment has its place in every religion and society. It is intended to prevent harm inflicted on others and give recognition to the sanctity of life. We appear to have forgotten that life is sacred, that it must not be taken on a whim and that every life is special regardless of whether it belongs to a man or woman, to the poor or the rich, or a person who is old or young.

The shooting incident carried out by Counter-Terrorism Department personnel in Sahiwal, which killed four people and left three children orphaned, has shaken many of us. A shocking video of the incident purportedly shows the police taking the younger children out of the car and then opening fire at the vehicle. The initial accounts offered by the CTD now appear to be little more than lies and the truth must be investigated and uncovered.

A Senate committee is already conducting an investigation and arrests have been made. But these arrests and the insensitive gesture made by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar – who presented the 10-year-old survivor of the attack and his younger sister with a bouquet while visiting them at the hospital and rather thoughtlessly woke them up to pose for photographs with him – simply prove how much we have to learn and how much more needs to be done.

For obvious reasons in our highly politicised society, the opposition has turned its guns – fortunately metaphorically – on the PTI and its failure to rein in the police. The reality, however, is that similar encounters have taken place in the past and our police are now essentially a unit trained in killing individuals or groups, sometimes after a minor dispute or argument. This may well have been the case in Sahiwal.

We don’t know the truth. At this stage, the future duties of the PTI government must include retraining and reforming the police. Even when a crime is committed, shooting out the tires of a vehicle – a tactic employed by security forces across the world – can save lives. Saving lives must be the first priority, no matter what the circumstances may be. This holds true in all cases, regardless of whether those under attack are suspected criminals or not.

Unfortunately, we seem to have forgotten that life is precious and important, at least for the families or friends of those who have been killed. In January 2018, a shopkeeper and aspiring model Naqeebullah Mehsud was ruthlessly shot dead in Karachi. Before this incident, others have died in an equally brutal manner.

It is not only the police who kill people. In 2014, a mob burnt a Christian couple to death at a brick kiln in Kot Radha Kishan, accusing them of blasphemy. There is no proof that any act of blasphemy was committed. An aunt was able to save their children, who must now learn to live without their parents, adding to the hardships of an already poverty-stricken life they have to endure.

In 2010, two brothers accused of robbery were lynched to death in Sialkot. We also have incidents such as the murder of Mashal Khan at the Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan in April 2017 and a long list of other killings, some in the name of ‘honour’, some to settle petty scores, some that were carried out by security personnel and others that were prompted by motives that which we simply don’t know much about. It is the weak and the vulnerable who are often targeted.

While it is important to deal with the immediate aftermath of the incident in Sahiwal and ensure that all those responsible for the Sahiwal tragedy must be penalised under the law, it is also essential that we restore the broader notion that life has value in our society. The manner in which the 2012 Baldia Town fire at a garments factory in Karachi was set off – as an act of deliberate arson that killed hundreds of workers – shows the ruthlessness and brutality that has woven itself into our social reality. We need to unweave the entire fabric of this society if a difference is to be made and a new order is to be established.

The process for this has to begin at the very top. Law-enforcement agencies must not be given any form of licence to kill. We know that murders which driven by vendetta have taken place after ‘clean-up’ operations in the northern areas and other parts of the country. They have left behind groups of citizens who are even more terror-struck than before. This has triggered anger and a growing realisation that the state simply doesn’t care for its citizens. The state must then act as the primary protector of life.

It is only when this will happen that the idea will seep through many layers and reach people in all places. We have had incidents where mobs have set alleged robbers alight in Karachi and other cities. The sheer barbarity of such acts points towards a society in which things have gone miserably wrong. The question of whether any individual has the right to kill another may be a complex one in some circumstances. But the police or citizens certainly don’t have the right to mete out punishment on the spot without a trial or due process. Even more so, they don’t have the right to leave children orphaned or act without any sense of responsibility or humanity.

While we often talk about religion in our daily discourse, the concepts of humanity and kindness that are embedded within it have faded away from our lives. There are far too many people who have no scruples about torturing others or killing them as and when they deem fit. The rich and the powerful know that they are likely to escape punishment for such acts. If we study the events of previous years, it is quite obvious that the life of a labourer or a domestic worker is insignificant in the eyes of his or her oppressor. Even the state seems to have forgotten that their primary duty is to protect life.

To change this, action will need to extend beyond gestures and angry posts and tweets on social media from our leaders. The manner in which the police have been trained needs to be rectified to prevent the acts of brutality that they commit. Retraining is essential at the official level to teach law-enforcers how to respond to situations.

A similar form of retraining must also be extended to all members of society in order to safeguard life, ensure safety, and rebuild the shattered idea that no individual should be killed mercilessly or simply because specific elements wish to do away with him. This is fundamental to people’s ability to live together in a situation that resembles harmony.

We have piece by piece lost this sense of harmony in our country. The pieces need to be fitted back together to restore peace and ensure that the idea of protecting life stays in our minds long after the events that took place in Sahiwal are forgotten and archived in files and folders.

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor.

Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com