Daily Times

Sir: I am depressed with what is happening in our societies and in this world. Last night I went through that Asifa’s rape case. An eight year old girl went through some dreadful incidents one like us cannot even imagine. Words bleed when incidents like these are described.

The crime took place in one of India’s most restive regions. Since 1989, there has been an armed revolt in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley against Indian rule.

Asifa’s family belongs to a community of Muslim nomadic shepherds who crisscross the Himalayas with their livestock. In the winter, they often travel from the valley to Jammu, where they use public forest land for grazing — this has recently brought them into conflict with some Hindu residents in the region, which according to some resources lead to this horrible incident.

I cannot further describe that incident here in words, or I should say words can’t. This is not a materialistic case, but it’s about Humanity, feelings. My heart breaks into pieces when I listen or read such frightful incidents. She was just another Zainab from another state. We’re witnessing the failure of humanity. Many Indian celebrities also raised their voices feeling the pain of that little angel.

One famous Indian actor (Farhan Akhtar) tweeted:

Imagine what goes through the mind of an 8 yr old as she is drugged, held captive, gang raped over days and then murdered. If you don’t feel her terror, you are not human. If you don’t demand Asifa get justice, you belong to nothing.

I am speechless, and I request Indian concerned authorities to hang the culprits in front of the whole world and tell the world that that’s how we treat such people.

M BASIL KHAN

Karachi

Published in Daily Times, April 19^th 2018.