That big hearty smile on Shahrukh Jatoi’s face while being escorted by police to an armoured vehicle and the display of a victory sign after being given the death sentence by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) judge for committing Shahzeb Khan’s murder, was not without reason. Such decisions have been made in the past, not to serve justice but to fill the ever-starved bellies of news channels.
In the recent past, several incidents occurred that took the media into a blaze of breaking news, resulting in suo motu notices and several subsequent television programmes, followed by a plethora of Facebook pages and twitter profiles in support of the victims. However, the moment the story dies down on mainstream channels, everyone forgets about it, including the institutions that portray themselves as the only voice for the rights and emancipation of the people. As is the norm, the news is always anticipated, reported, analysed, until all interest is wrung from it and then abandoned for some new novelty.
Let’s take a look at those cases that took the nation by storm, instigating massive reactions only to get disbursed from our memory as soon as the media lost interest in them.
On August 15, 2010, two brothers, Hafiz Muneeb and Hafiz Mughees, were lynched by a violent mob outside the office of Rescue-1122 in Buttar village near Sialkot in the presence of police. ATC Judge Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmad sentenced to death on four counts Ali Raza alias Peter, Muhammad Iqbal, Jameel alias Jeela, Shafeeq alias Foji, Sarfraz Ahmad, Rashid and Muhammad Amin. The penalty is yet to be implemented. Unfortunately, the media has already consumed this news to the fullest.
On January 4, 2011, Mumtaz Qadri, a security guard of the then Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer assassinated him in broad daylight because he disagreed with Taseer’s interpretation of the blasphemy law. On Ocober 1, 2011, Qadri was served the death sentence by ATC judge Syed Pervez Ali Shah, who was later made to flee in the wake of serious threats to his life. He is currently residing in Saudi Arabia with his lodging arrangements facilitated by the government of Pakistan. Qadri, on the other hand, has become the most celebrated murderer, with mainstream religious parties like Jamaat-e-Islami constantly pressuring President Zardari to use his powers and grant him amnesty. For now, the Islamabad High Court has stayed the implementation of the death sentence until a decision on his appeal against the verdict. The media’s silence on this issue is understandable but does it mean that the freedom of expression is confined only to undesirable governmental policies?
On May 17, 2011, five unarmed foreigners were killed, including a seven-month pregnant woman in Kharotabad, Quetta, by the security forces. The whole shoot-out was filmed on camera and the footage made it to TV channels. Again, it generated a huge public reaction against the law enforcement agencies, forcing the provincial government to form a judicial commission. During the inquiry, the police surgeon who gave a true account to the probe was threatened, beaten and eventually killed. The driver who changed his statement thrice finally blurted out the truth, saying the five Chechens were innocent. The commission headed by the Balochistan High Court Justice Hashim Khan Kakar held SHO Fazlur Rehman and ASI Raza Khan responsible for the May 17 incident. No action was taken against the all-powerful Frontier Corps personnel who opened fire on the unarmed innocent Chechens, as can be seen in the video. No follow-up on the media has thus far been observed.
On June 8, 2011, Sarfaraz Shah was murdered by Rangers personnel at the Benazir Shaheed Park in Clifton, Karachi. ATC judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso had sentenced Rangers constable Shahid Zafar to death. However, the accused filed a petition against his conviction. The Sindh High Court has recently reserved its judgment.
But lately, the media has been too busy with Shahrukh Jatoi. For the most part, it is not entirely the media’s fault. New issues get higher ratings and sell more papers than old ones. Jatoi knows very well that the appeal from the Sindh High Court to the Supreme Court and then to the president will take ions of years to get a response. By then, the media will have no memory of him, and with some muscle flexing, his case can come to a conclusion, tipping things in his favour. According to a report, there are over 8,000 people on death row in Pakistan, making it amongst the largest death row population in the world. In 2012, Pakistan carried out its first execution in almost four years on November 15, 2012. That explains the huge smile on Jatoi’s face.
The writer is a senior producer on a news channel and can be reached on twitter @zeekhan_