Karachi’s Karsaz Road hit-and-run is fast proving to be a test for the authorities in ways more than one. However, as has the norm been in cases involving the lure of money or the fear of clout, law enforcement agencies in the southern city appear willing to risk their credibility in the eyes of the common public for an alleged preferential treatment to the elite.
Monday’s heartwrenching and well-documented manslaughter saw an SUV owned by the wife of a leading industrialist speed at over 100 kilometres per hour on a service road with a limit of 30 kilometres per hour; hit three motorcycles and then overturn after colliding with a parked car, resulting in the tragic death of a father and his daughter and injuring three others.
Because of the high stakes involved, Karachi Police should have considered the optics of failure to produce the suspect before the court on Tuesday. Instead, her counsel submitted a note on her psychiatric state. Although she was eventually produced before a magistrate and remanded for 14 days, the delay had already caused significant damage, prompting a widespread backlash on social media.
Ours is a country where cases involving the powerful are looked upon as make-or-break moments for the state, its prosecution teams and their ability to gather evidence as well as ensure a fair trial. The erosion of public trust in the state institutions could have inspired a line of action to dismantle the sense of entitlement and hand down an exemplary sentence to the culprit, whoever they may be and whatsoever their connections they may be. Chances of this remain slim as more and more people believe that a “coverup” is being perfected.
Several aspects of the saga, including delays in submitting blood and urine samples for drug analysis, conflicting statements from health and police officials and a controversial mental health defence, point to what we have frequently seen: impunity enjoyed by the privileged classes. Shahzeb Khan’s murder, the long road to justice for Khadija Siddiqui and the pardon given in an Islamabad car crash because of former ombudsperson Kashmala Tariq have previously illustrated the ongoing struggle to ensure the rule of law prevails over the influence of the wealthy in Pakistan. *
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