Daily Times

The dust had not yet settled on the Kharotabad incident, when another, equally disconcerting video has surfaced on the news channels, showing the Rangers shooting an unarmed man point blank. According to reports, the victim was accused by a visitor of Benazir Bhutto Park in Clifton, Karachi of mobile phone theft and was handed over to the Rangers on duty. Instead of arresting him, the Rangers first pushed and shoved, and then shot him in the arm and leg. He died on his way to hospital due to excessive bleeding.

In a situation where not only civilian but security forces are also being targeted, there is obviously a threat, tension and nervousness among the security personnel. However, this is where the professional forces’ discipline comes into play. Unfortunately, that discipline is eroding in Pakistan’s security forces. This was obvious in the Kharotabad incident, where Frontier Corps and police personnel killed a family of five foreigners, as well as the present incident. Both these incidents received publicity due to their being captured on camera. There might be countless others, which disappeared in the dark recesses of anonymity without anybody ever knowing about them and without the families of the victims getting justice.

The Karachi and Kharotabad incidents are part of a bigger issue, that of a longstanding culture of impunity surrounding our law enforcement and security agencies. These agencies consider themselves above the law because they have been never questioned or held accountable for their deeds, be it the military, paramilitary forces, police or intelligence agencies. From the very beginning, their attitude towards the people has been oppressive. They confidently violate human rights and the laws of the land. This culture of impunity was, in a sense, also reflected in the murder of Salmaan Taseer, where the governor’s own guard took his life, without a shot being fired by the rest of his guards, polluted by extremist religious ideas. Now that impunity is operating in a way that the trial of Taseer’s murder is not moving forward, with religious fanatics pressurising the prosecution and the judge, who has gone on leave. The prime minister’s assurances to investigate the Karachi incident mean nothing when his government could not provide security and now justice to its own governor. The murder of Minorities’ Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti later reflects the same pattern, the perpetrators reportedly having fled abroad. The recent murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad follows suit. This pattern needs to be studied deeply and the culture of impunity unravelled. The security and law enforcement forces that do not respect the law themselves are inviting anarchy, which, arguably, is already underway. *