The cover of time

Whenever an incident of a very serious nature occurs in our country, an inquiry is immediately ordered so that the culprits can be punished. What actually happens is that as time passes, people forget to keep track, even those who are directly affected, and life goes on as normal. After that tragic train fire accident near Rahimyar Khan, where over 75 precious lives were lost, the minister for railways went quiet for a few weeks. Now he is back again on TV channels, defending the government. This is one of the many examples that can be quoted where it is been assumed that as time passes, people tend to forget the past and therefore the pressure of accountability from the affected also gets reduced.

There is a general perception among the public that by ordering inquiries, that invariably takes months to complete, time is bought for the affected people to forget. However, I find it difficult to subscribe to this notion. Speedy administration of justice is the only way to restore people's confidence in our present system.

Cdre (r) Sajjad Ali Shah Bokhari

Islamabad