Pakistan has progressed much over the years when it comes to helping mafias flourish on its soil. The dwindling state machinery has provided fertile ground to all mafias to grow and become united for the establishment of their businesses and illegal activities. The heads of mafias have turned into warlords and are famous for playing havoc with the rule of law, public and human rights, state institutions, constitution and laws of the land. However, sadly, these mafias are very often assisted by political, religious, business, trade, intellectual and media elites to pursue their vested interests, even if it goes against the state.
With each passing day, the canvas of our local mafias is getting bigger with mafias being found in every sector, every field. The notorious land, drugs, arms smuggling, human trafficking, transport, extortion, estate, trade union, medicine, money laundering, gang, criminal, corruption and above all religious and political mafias are ruling the roost. But their growth in metropolitan cities has put at stake the very survival of the country. Either the status of the mafias has become too high due to the accumulation of illegal wealth or state institutions have become too weak to bring them to justice for their unlawful activities.
It seems as if the country is more ruled by mafias in the so-called democratic setup than anybody else due to their huge investment in politics and political relationships. In the current scenario, it is felt that the national politics of the country are replicated by village level politics where no one has the courage to take a stand before the mighty Sardar, Nawab, Chaudhry, Khan, Wadera (landlords, all of them) of the area. It is said, “In Pakistan, only the powerful and mighty can buy justice.” In the case of ever-growing mafias, at times even the state seems helpless as they are either already in politics/political workers or able to buy justice for the price that a common person is unable even to fathom. The country cannot progress in the presence of this rising group of mafias in almost all fields of life as they do not let the state function and deliver justice across the board, which is the only way forward when it comes to restoring public confidence in state institutions.
Whether it is the law and order situation of Karachi, violation of public and human rights, artificial price hikes in times of need, sale of spurious medicines to ailing people and medical institutions, bogus housing societies, target killings, human trafficking, drug smuggling, illegal land grabbing, car lifting or abduction, most of these crimes are patronised by these mafias. Likewise, the cases of Saulat Mirza and Ayyan Ali are just minor episodes of the whole drama. Those who work to push things under the carpet or behind the scenes are the real culprits and enemies of the state.
What the French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac said about the law proves itself correct every time in the Pakistani context. “Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.” The history of the country has hardly ever witnessed a single example where a mafia head or a warlord has been brought to justice or given exemplary punishment for discouraging violating the rule of law. Only making an example of them can encourage the supremacy of the rule of law. It is a tragedy to even imagine what people think, especially when the state’s institutions fail in playing their due role for which they pay from their hard earned money in terms of taxes around the year.
What kind of revolution does the country need? The answer is a dismantling of the mafias and to treat them with an iron hand to make an example out of them for the coming generations. Every story has an end and the end of our local mafias should be a new beginning for the progress and prosperity of the country; it would be day after a long night of trial and tribulations faced by the masses.
The writer is an Islamabad journalist and freelance author