An Unmitigated Crime

“I swore never to be silent whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” — Elie Weisel

The history of the world is replete with tragedies which were born out of the silence of those who needed to speak out at times when grave injustice was being perpetrated, but they opted not to. They preferred to remain quiet. Looking at it from a different perspective, so many human catastrophes could have been averted if people had gathered the courage to step forth and challenge the inflictors.

Even more gruesome would be the prospect of speaking not on the side of the aggrieved but the tormentor, not on the side of the victim but the aggressor, not on the side of the exploited but the looters and plunderers. This would be tantamount to adding to the pain and sufferings of the weak and impoverished, thus reversing the tide of justice. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, and much to the angst of the conscientious few, this may already have happened with the poor staring blankly at a canvas which does not promise any respite or relief. The infliction seems perpetual and the pain unbearable.

Pakistan has weathered many crossroads in its chequered history, but none more daunting than the perpetual denial of justice to those who needed it the most, and the silence of those whose word could carry weight and substance, but they remained uncaring and unconcerned, thus helping further perpetuation of the inequity, inequality, and injustice syndrome. But there comes a time when silence becomes the albatross. It assumes the form of an unmitigated crime, an abettor, and an accomplice of breeding the process of injustice. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that, for most of its years since independence, this beleaguered country has waded through turbulent waters with no protective gear to guard it against brewing challenges and no hope to salvage the adversarial situations for relief. As a matter of fact, along the excruciating passage of time, things have continued to deteriorate rapidly so much so that they now appear to be beyond any ordinary remedy. Only extraordinary measures may bring some relief.

It is mindboggling to count the times when the nation should have spoken out with one voice to defend their rights and their dignity, but they forfeited that option. Dictatorships were greeted with silence as were the democrats who came hiding their despotic spots. Silence greeted the spree of loot and plunder as it did defacing and denial of justice. Volumes of crime and corruption were garlanded by a profusion of drumbeats as also the infliction of rank cruelty upon the hapless. Silence ruled when gangs chanting democracy soaked the country in the blood of its innocent. Even the decision of the court that the daylight murder of pregnant women in Model Town could not be probed, was greeted with silence as was the closing of the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case with instructions for the media to not even report it. Silence pervaded when judgements were dispensed against orders received on phone, when justice was purchased by sending brief cases full of silver coins, and when the apex court and its sitting chief justice were attacked in broad daylight by the goons of a political party.

Silence also loomed when the rich and the powerful openly indulged in buying courts while the poor were deemed not deserving of justice. Persecution of minorities, desecration of the burial places, rape of the innocent, and murder of the helpless were all greeted with silence. Blatant lies, deceit and forgery could not break the wall of silence. The minds were lulled and the tongues numbed into silence in responding to the vilest and wickedest provocations. Ingrained principles were sacrificed and the nascent promise compromised, but the impregnable wall of silence remained unmoved.

It, therefore, may not be wrong to assume that silence remains a preferred occupation of the nation. So be it, but has anyone ever tried to measure the cost this silence has inflicted upon the state and its people, and how much they have suffered as a consequence of this servile indulgence? Like I have said often, there is a threshold and maintaining silence beyond it, no matter how stoic, it would transport the guilty into the domain of cowardice, even criminal complicity. Silence beyond that threshold leaves little to distinguish between the perpetrator and the perpetrated, between justice and injustice. They all merge into one.

This threshold is defined by separating the true from the lie, the genuine from the fake, the spontaneous from the contrived, and the real from the false. Societies prosper and perish by the wisdom of their choice, not the profit of their complicity. Societies prosper by the courage of their voice, not the cowardice of their silence. Societies prosper by the rationale of their planning, not the abuse of their prejudice. Societies prosper not by mere claims of their goals, but the reality of their success. These are no easy targets. These are no standards for the weak-hearted among the mortals. These require both the courage of conviction and an unwavering determination for succeeding.

But, most importantly, when the truth and falsehood start getting mixed up and it becomes difficult to sift one from the other, and when the spirit to follow the genuine is dissipated and striking compromises becomes a norm, the danger bells start tolling. It is a signal that decay has set in. It calls for the society to look inward and see where the fault lines are and how these can be rectified. This realisation is critical for retrieving it from plunging deeper into the pit of regression and ignominy. It is time to think, and think seriously.

Because of an embarrassingly low and compromised quality of leadership that ascended the helm often in this country, the society was made to endure multiple influences and pressures which were detrimental to its evolution into a credible and vibrant force. It is thus that the society was rendered unable to realise its true potential and promise. It continued wading through phases of uncertainty perpetrated by a variety of dubious leaders who actively cultivated a gruesome culture of crime and corruption. Incalculable damage was done by the charlatans hailing from the Sharif and Bhutto/Zardari fiefdoms. So widespread was the affliction that it virtually contaminated every individual who breathed here. Over time, it bred a society that was deprived of its faculty to discern the right from wrong. Somewhere along the way, the two merged, thus gravely corrupting the societal ethical threshold. In fact, the separating line disappeared completely, leaving in its place a hedonistic infatuation with crime and corruption.

So deeply dug in are the roots of this pervasive ailment that the reform process that Prime Minister Khan initiated after coming into power has been met with immense resistance from the crime conglomerate, the beneficiary elite, and their sundry a-dime-a-dozen sycophants and cronies. They saw their financial and political demise reflected in the face of the success of the reform initiative. Consequently, their opposition was laced with heavy doses of venom and bitterness directed at the person of the Prime Minister. With relentless help and assistance from the state institutions, which had been infested with people of dubious character through the Sharif and Bhutto/Zardari rules, they were able to slow down the process of cleansing the deck. The bureaucracy and the judiciary played critical roles in this sabotage and a job which should have been completed by now is still some distance away.

Once again, the missing link has been the voice of the people which would have lent immense power to the drive. But, because of the corrupt influences that they have been exposed to for years at a stretch, their voice remained muted. But the positive thing is that, with the passage of time, and with the fruits of reform becoming more visible, an increasing number of people are attracted to the change which is taking shape. With the ousted leaders fighting a battle for their financial and political survival, some adverse influences may still linger. They are even aggravated in certain respects, fully aided and abetted by their operatives within the state institutions. But it is also a reality that the status quo forces are on the retreat and it may not be long before their influence may disappear altogether.

Nevertheless, the nation may still have to contend with the remnants of these retrogressive forces. It is here that the combined voice of the people can generate a significant appeal and influence to expedite the process of change. That voice of conviction, that voice of resolve, that voice of power was never more needed than now to defeat the vile and sinister manoeuvres of the criminal syndicate spearheaded by the Sharif and Bhutto/Zardari clans who dread staring into the pit of their nightmarish political oblivion.

The society has endured the biting pain of silence for much too long. It is time to cast off this syndrome. It is time to lend our voice to the battle for national redemption which is raging. I can see that resistance of the status quo is failing and the sun is about to set on their political fortunes. They have already been shifted on the support system.

Be it the long march or the vote of no-confidence, or any other stratagem their wicked minds can think of ─ let them indulge in their swan song!