She is gone but put us to test

Shazia, though a certified economic trodden girl, was yet an equally as respectable Pakistani citizen as any one thought of himself or herself without any reference to the religion, language, area and clan etc, to mention a few, particularly within the territorial limits of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The whole country in particular and the world at large in general knows who was she and how and where she is gone. What was her crime, may I ask? Is poverty a crime in my beloved country? How could Naeem being an advocate could employ an under aged girl of just 12 years? Shouldn’t the lawyer, in the 1^st instance be accused and charged for willfully employing an under aged girl? Who opposes me when I dare suggest that Naeem must be physically tortured right from now onward alike how savage he had been with the innocent soul? Without prejudice to what many have already condemned including the top man of the country President Asif Ali Zardari would like to view it from a different angle simply because she has put us to real test and on the face of it I opine that the culprits will be punished accordingly but from inside I am a bit doubtful of the same.

It will quite unfair or may be too immoral on my part if I do not applaud and commend the efforts of the media to flash the tragic news otherwise how could I know the tragedy when sitting miles away in Kuwait. Honestly speaking to me this is just the beginning of the task so far as media is concerned and I very sincerely wish rather beg media not to sleep on the case and keep it alive till the so called advocate is hanged to death in retribution to the heinous crime he has committed. No denying the fact it is nothing but media which very well knows the art of different ‘tion’ right from ordinary action to information, articulation, motivation, ignition and execution etc and in past both long and recent it has proved to its might and rose to the occasion and masses expectation and it should be done so now too without any reluctance and exception.

May be I am mistaken which perhaps I am not to pen that our Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani popularly known as a true gentleman and civilized person has not said even a word on the case though he is not only the head of the government but has also been taking note of even those different activities and events which did not belong to him directly. Luckily PM was very much in Lahore on the unfortunate day and newspapers have flashed the photo showing Shabaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister calling on PM at his official residence in Lahore. Who failed and how-didn’t PM read the newspapers or he intentionally avoided is an unanswered question?

Where are the learned lawyers who just the other day assembled in Lahore and threatened to go on nation wide strike on 28^th instant? It has been reported in all the leading newspapers that National Coordination Council had called an important meeting in Lahore to be presided by Supreme Court Bar Association President Qazi Anwar and attended by all the presidents of all bar association across the country. The said meeting was attended by some retired judges also in addition to many prominent lawyers of the country. There is absolutely nothing wrong if such like intelligentsia met in Lahore but how did they assume the role to intimidate the government or more bluntly President Zardari that judges in the higher rung of our judiciary must be appointed as recommended and desired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Muhammad Iftikhar Chauhdry? Even for argument sake and academic discussion if I accept that the lawyer’s community is justified in raising hue and cry for appointment of judges, implementation of rule of law, cognizance of post-NRO situation and supremacy on constitution etc but my simple and only question is as to how and why they could ignore Shazia? Did they ignore her simply because she did not belong to majority Muslims of the country? Did they ignore her because she was one of the poorest of poor? Did they ignore because her parents being poor empty handed can not even think of engaging a lawyer? Did they ignore her on the ground that the killer of Shazia is himself a lawyer? Had the sky split apart or rivers dried up if lawyers had given a strike call against such inhumane killing?

Where the political parties are whose total numbers may not even be known to Election Commission of Pakistan what to talk a person like me but very much surprisingly all of them are silent rather dead silent? What about the two main political parties, the one too impatiently aspiring to grab power presently labeled as opposition as well as the one which on the throne for a limited period of time but wish to cling to power till death? What about the leaders particularly those who are still very much publicly and loudly boasting of enjoying heavy mandate though it could have true some what more than a decade ago? Where are our religious leaders who from day one have claimed and proclaimed to be with the poor masses and not with those who have heavy purse? Where are our NGOs including some self-proclaimed ones? Doesn’t it fall in their spectrum to take it up?

Summing up, we should not forget that even though Shazia is physically dead and come, what may, she can not come back again as a living human but yet she is very much alive even right now and had she not been so, at least, I had not written on her in any case. She is very much alive not just today but till the dooms day for her beloved parents and other near and dear. Shazia is alive for all of us who have even the slightest and the weakest feelings of humanity in us. She is alive and quite justified in asking when and how the beast whom officially we personify Advocate Naeem will be put to gallows. She is alive and reminding President Zardari that she should not have sound sleep after doling out 500,000 rupees to her parents and that too from our national exchequer and not from his personal hard earned money. She is alive and asking her nation as a whole that say if she had she been a daughter of one of our top rich twenty two families had he treated the same way.

Last, but not the least, Shazia is too feeble to even sit what to talk of standing, she is chocked and unable to utter even a word what to talk of a sentence but yet her tearful eyes are asking each one of us will not some lawyer accuse me and not Naeem, will he not be released on bail and eventually will not any judge acquit him honorably as if nothing had happened or the truth will prevail that Shazia was not killed but she committed suicide. Long live Pakistan.

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With my honest and solemn prayers

Sincere Iqbal Hadi Zaidi / Kuwait