Blood stained hands of our leaders and nation

This has reference to one of the top news flashed today Saturday 17^th September, 2010 by The Frontier Post saying that a man in Quideabad Colony, one of the slums, Karachi first killed his wife and three sons and then hanged himself to death. Police has recovered a letter written the deceased Mohammad Asif aged 24 years saying that due to poverty he is ending himself and his family. This is the most condemnable, shameful and atrocious news if we realize its heat and repercussions.

Numerically, it is not all significant because out of millions if 5 people die it has no bearing and though I am too weak in arithmetic but yet perhaps calculator cannot work it out in term of percentage so far as the population is concerned but this is just one side of the story but the other side of the story is the real story which must be given due cognizance if we are a nation and that also a Muslim nation. A few tears trickled down my cheeks to read the news and I am sure you too will sob for a while. The reason for their death is nothing but a slap on our faces if we realize. Our heads, on this account, must bow down in shame not just now but forever. Who does not want to live, I or you or both, is my direct, blunt and shrewd question? It must be realized that Asif definitely had thought to enjoy a pleasant life not just now but even after when he turns a senior citizen. He fathered 3 sons believing that when he will educate them and once they are grown up they will share the burden and eventually they will take over and earn at the time when he turns gray. How much he would have thought about the sons cannot be measured and gauged except felt? Quite naturally he and his wife must have thought that for the time being they shall have to sacrifice their comforts for the sons but eventually it will pay them back in the long run. They must have very tough time to meet the both ends but yet the couple did not give up but it was way beyond for Asif to feed and maintain his family and resultantly he simply could not help to kill himself and the dependent family members.

Being out of Pakistan since 1976, I do not have any idea what can be the minimum expense of a family of 5 members but I do know that prices of even daily essential items are too high. My special thanks for ARY Q tv which has very rightly come to my rescue at the most ripe and appropriate time otherwise I had been simply groping in the thick black darkness. Luckily just today I have seen and heard that ARY has initiated Ghareeb Nawaz Fund to raise money to help the poor marooned flood stricken people. The announcement says that a token money of Rs 2,500 (Kuwaiti dinars 8.385 or US $ 29.20) will meet the monthly expense of a family of 6 members so from this point of view perhaps Asif did not have even such a small money to live on. Perhaps a daily wage earner earns around Rs 5,000/ in a month. It is written with heavy heart coupled with much regret and remorse that not once but many a times in the recent past also some economic trodden people have gone to the extreme and committed suicide though I cannot quote the date, place and the number of the past sad incidents but very categorically speaking without slightest shadow of doubt that Asif is not the flag bearer in any case. It reminds me that some time back some father went to such an extreme that he even tried to publicly sell his children on a road side simply because he could no more support them anymore. The parents who take all the precautionary measures, go through all the pains and even face many untold hardships to bear a child cannot even dream to part away with their own blood but alas it happened in The Islamic Republic of Pakistan whose green passport I am using for over three decades. My goodness, at least I have not heard in my practical life that the father sells his kids and perhaps such like incident is not mentioned even in many airy fairy stories which I have read.

Don’t our rulers who always make shoddy claims know what is going on in the country while they are occupying the throne? To my understanding, daily newspapers are read and a summary is prepared for Minister in each ministry about the news and views concerning the ministry. The question is if the summary is prepared then what actions, both remedial and punitive, is taken by the minister and other higher officials but if the summary is not prepared then the question is as to why it is not prepared? Isn’t it their moral, official and constitutional obligation to ensure that all live a peaceful life and none commits suicide unless he / she are mentally retarded? What about the neighbors, even if we neglect our various NGOs and charitable organizations including Zakat Fund? If we as a Muslim think of neighbors as ordained by Islam such like situation will never ever happen but perhaps none practices it, like we keep on changing covering cloth of Quran but seldom read it, and likewise though most of us know what is our obligation towards the next door but hardly we have shown courtesy to even know his / her name what to talk of helping him / her.

Who takes the initiative to at least knock at his / her neighbor and start building some acquaintance, if not friendship? Believe you me; if each one of us resorts to our religious practice, then many of our problems will be automatically solved at our own personal level without any interference and dependence of the government. Forget about the past and there is no point to look back since that is nothing but a part of forgotten history and, therefore, we must think of bright and shinning future not for self only but also of those whose walls touch our walls. It is very much expected from our leaders who are too proud to claim that that they have won with majority (not heavy mandate) that they will announce publicly and loudly that all those who are in dire need of monetary assistance must contact the government to receive the required financial assistance as against committing suicide.

I wish that you all should also join me in praying that such like incidents should stop forthwith so that was can live an honorable nation amongst community of nations, aameen.

                             *************************************************

With my honest and solemn prayers

Sincere Iqbal Hadi Zaidi / Former Diplomat / Kuwait