Daily Times

On February 13, 2018 a gruesome murder took place. It carried all the hallmarks of target killing. That day Dr Tanzeem Akbar Cheema, Associate Professor of the Botany Department, Government College University Lahore was driving back from work as he did normally after a full day’s work when at around half past eight in the evening at the Kalma Chowk, he was shot at four times. He did not survive.

The assassins escaped,and soon afterwards another man was shot and wounded, presumably by them, with a view probably to generate confusion so that a premediated murder could appear to be the result of some random or arbitrary killing.

The initial reports in the media alluded to a robbery,but a few days later a sensational twist was added to it. It was suggested that he had liaison with a female student whose B.Sc. (Hons) research he was supervising. According to media reports a telephone call from her to him half an hour earlier had been traced where both had allegedly agreed for their rendezvous at Kalma Chowk at nine o’clock. The CCTV camera captures a girl and a boy quickly dispersing in opposite directions while the assassin shoots at Dr Cheema. The story spread like wild fire, because nothing whets the curiosity of people more than a sexual scandal – and that between a teacher and a young female student adds extra pep to it.

What wrong had he done her? Had he jilted her for someone else or first promised her to marry her but later changed his mind?What more could be behind such a ruthless way of avenging a perceived wrong done by the deceased to her? Such questions come easily to mind, because salacious stuff makes the hottest news and the media thrives on such stories. Apparently,the story was based on sources emanating from the investigation team which shared it with the journalists. For a few days, that story circulated around, generating much gossip.And then it slipped into oblivion. Up until now, nobody has been arrested for the murder of Dr Cheema.

With television channels hell-bent on increasing the number of viewers and thus earning more money, no ethical standards seem to be followed and anything and everything goes as long as the earnings increase

Now, I had never met Dr Cheema, but since he worked at GCU where I teach during the winter I learnt from those who knew him that he was a brilliant teacher, researcher with outstanding publications in his field, and over and above all a thorough gentleman. He was a foreign PhD degree holder. He was considered a man of encyclopaedic knowledge who was always willing to help others and went out of the way to help his students. I also learnt that there was no family feud going on over property or any other such matter.

He had recently been promoted to the designation of associate professor and was expected to play an important role in his field. His untimely death was mourned by his students and his colleagues. Of course, brilliant men who are also great human beings can get entangled in some amorous relationship with their students; such things happen. I talked to some of his students and colleagues to ascertain the facts and they confirmed that Dr Cheema had no such affair going on. He enjoyed a flawless reputation.

I decided to talk to the girl around whom the whole story had been built by the media. She agreed. Her version is that the phone call she had made was in response to a call from her supervisor in which he had urged her to devote herself more to her studies and not to fall behind the deadlines. They had agreed to meet at nine as recorded in their last conversation, but it was to be next day at 9 am in the University for the Lecture. In any case — the police had detained her and interrogated her thoroughly and then after three days, released her when they found nothing incriminating against her.

We are by now very familiar — and in the process — I believe, desensitized to the way Pakistani media exploits such situations. With television channels hell-bent on increasing the number of viewers and thus earning more money, no ethical standards seem to be followed and anything and everything goes as long as the earnings increase. And what about the police and other agencies? Isn’t their first and foremost duty to arrest criminals and bring them to the book?

It is not for me to speculate, but if no usual reason for such a gruesome crime can be found — then was his murder a case of mistaken identity? Were the killers waiting for someone else, but killed him by mistake? His students and colleagues whom I talked to discount the theory of mistaken identity. When I suggested that it could be the result of some professional jealousy, they said they did not know of any such conflict either. They believed, however, that someone deliberately planned his murder.

A thorough and proper inquiry is imperative to find out why he was shot dead. The assassin and his accomplices escaped from the scene, and have not been traced since then. Not only has a precious life has been lost, but a young family has been devastated.

His wife, Zareen Bashir has an MPhil in Botany and another MPhil in Bio Technology from GCU. Dr Cheema leaves behind three children, two sons aged 13 and 11, and a daughter aged 9. I would like to urge the authorities that on humanitarian grounds, and in accordance with the prime minister’s package for government employees, his wife Zareen Bashir is given a job at GCU to support her and her children. As a family, they are already traumatized. Their plight is made worse because nobody can tell them why Dr Cheema was assassinated.

In any case,the media and their sources should apologize for the false reporting and the hurt and embarrassment they have caused his family. There is now complete silence on that case. Most importantly, the police must find out why Dr Tanzeem Akbar Cheema was murdered and who is behind it.

The writer is Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Stockholm University; Visiting Professor GC University; and, Honorary Senior Fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. He has written a number of books and won many awards, he can be reached onbillumian@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, March 19^th 2018.