Daily Times

For the past couple of days, residents of Lahore have become prisoners in their own city. Their movement has been restricted, and they are coerced into abiding the illegal confinement imposed on them. All this in the name of the ‘revival of cricket’ in Pakistan. This violates an individual’s right to be free from restraint of movement.

All I see is barricades around the city, restricting the people’s right to free movement. What crime have the residents of this beautiful city committed, to be treated the way we are being treated? For how long will we be imprisoned in our home; restricting our basic right to free movement, and the ability to carry out basic chores, without any hindrances or the fear to get caught in a traffic jam?

I am in no way against the cultural or sporting events that rarely take place. In fact, I am for it. What I am unable to comprehend is the illegal confinement being imposed on the residents. I understand that there are terrorist threats and the arrangements are made ultimately for our own safety but who is going to look up for an elderly woman who suffocates in the hours long traffic jams caused by the barricades? Who is responsible for the people who are in an emergency and are coerced into dealing with the barriers installed and ultimately lose their optimism and give up on their hope to save a loved one? What compensation are they given or been given in the past, if any?

Are we living in a monarchy, and have given consent to the kings and queens sitting at the top to treat us as subjects of their kingdom, pushed around, enslaved and ridiculed at their will?

It is a deplorable state of affairs. Are we slaves in our own home being raised to obey and abide by the unjust laws and decisions of the administration? For how long will the government treat us as a lint, a bottle cap; to be used for their own agendas, and throw us away in the garbage bins, once they have had their fill? Are we living in a monarchy, and have given consent to the kings and queens sitting at the top to treat us as subjects of their kingdom, pushed around, enslaved and ridiculed at their will?

For how long will our right to free movement be restricted? For how long will we be told to live our lives according to the rapacious illegitimate interests of a few corporations, and by the people sitting higher up in the hierarchy of decision making? What wrong has an ordinary citizen committed for him to face unnecessary, unlawful restriction on his daily life? What interest does an ordinary citizen have with the festivities taking place, when all he wants is the ability to move freely and possibly make a living and provide for his family?

The writer is a corporate lawyer and an alumnus of SOAS, University of London. He specialises in corporate governance issues and operates a law practice in Lahore called Sami Shah & Partners with offices in Toronto, Canada and Palos Verdes, California, USA. He can be reached at sami@samishahpartners.com

Published in Daily Times, September 15^th 2017.