Pak Tea House » Activism » Hoping for Shahbaz Taseer’s early Recovery
Hoping for Shahbaz Taseer’s early Recovery
By Raza Rumi; I fervently hope that Shahbaz Taseer is back by the time these lines are published. However, the past few days have been distressing to see the Taseer family facing yet another trying phase. The young Taseer was abducted on a busy Lahore road on August 26. His case is not uncommon in a country where kidnapping is becoming a popularstrategy with the state, criminal gangs and militant outfits. Hundreds of Pakistanis are missing across the country for various reasons. Despite the intervention of Superior Courts and pronouncements by the political executive, little progress has been made.
Taseer’s abduction followed the kidnapping of Dr Warren Weinstein, representative of a US consulting firm, J E Austin from his house in an affluent part of Lahore. Dr Weinstein is a 70-year-old man suffering from various ailments and his life is surely in danger. These kidnappings say a lot about the level of policing in the province. A Police Force notorious to suppress citizens especially the poor is obviously ill trained to handle such cases. In fact, the policemishandling of forensic evidence in Shahbaz Taseer’s car — right under the watch of TV cameras — speaks volumes for the incompetence in basic treatment of crime scenes. In the case of Dr Weinstein, as media reports suggest, they may have botched up the recovery process by hasty announcements about his possible location.
In his interview with BBC, Shahbaz Taseer immediately after his father’s murder shunned violence and expressed his family’s desire to live in Pakistan. A peaceful, soft-spoken young man is a target of the abductors whose identity thus far is not known. There have been speculations of all sorts but nothing can be stated with confidence. However, the abductors have sent a powerful message to Pakistanis: there are groups stronger than the state that can pick up high-profile targets at will.
Last February the son-in-law of the former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Tariq Majid was also kidnapped and thus far he has not been recovered. Media reports suggest that a sectarian outfit affiliated with the Taliban is responsible for the abduction and have asked for a hefty ransom amount in addition to the release of hundreds of militants. The question that comes to mind is that if a top military commander’s family is not safe then how can the bloody civilians feel safe in the nuclear-armed fortress of Islam?
Civilian men in charge of the country — the prime minister and the Punjab chief minister have assured the Taseer family that Shahbaz Taseer will be recovered soon. The chief minister has shown extraordinary interest in this case and the negative statements from the PPP side are quite unfortunate since this is not the time for political bickering.
It has been extremely disappointing to note that there are many in Pakistan who are quick to indulge in hate-mongering. On Twitter and other interactive web forums (as well as sections of Urdu Press), nasty comments on the abductions from Lahore have been made.
Needless to say that the missing Baloch and scores of other Pakistanis who have been taken away by state agencies or the militants require immediate attention of the government. Pakistan’s apparent state of free fall has to be arrested. Shahbaz Taseer is an innocent young man who must be recovered soon and the criminal gangs operating with apparent impunity should be tackled with an iron hand.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2011.
Filed under: Activism · Tags: BBC, Shahbaz Taseer, state, Taseer
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[...] Hoping for Shahbaz Taseer’s early Recovery [...]
Absolutely agree that Shahbaz Taseer must be rescued not because he is a high profile and widely recognized face, but there are so many faceless persons who have gone missing. Criminal gangs, religious fanatics, mafia goondas – whether they are powerful forces in the society or not – must be brought to justice and punished. This behaviour has no place in any civillized society. I hope Pakistan Govt. would unleash all it powers to eradicate this scourge.
Raza Rumi sahib when you talk about the incompetence of the police, I cringe a bit. Almost all governamental institutions in Pakistan are full of people who did not get hired because of merit, worst of all are the police departments in the country. For crying out loud the police departments are full of political appointees or the highest bidders of the positions within the departments.
Merit is worst than a galee (a cuss or a 4-lettered word) in Pakistan. Without making efforts to make merit the rule in Pakistan, all the comments are just a futile exercise. Cathatric, may be, but nothing more.
Look at the Pakistan Railways, PIA or any other organization or institution, they do not perform and are going down the the toilet. And these organizations can produce a profit. Police departments are a lost cause. The track record of Pakistan Police is a disaster.
KEEP CRYING ABOUT THE RAMPANT INCOMPETENCE IN PAKISTAN. Without putting the right people in the right place nothing good will result — ever.
Is it some kind of secret that Pakistani populace does not have a state anymore? Pakistan is since long a failed state.
Pakistan is simply some territory under control of the Kabila, the Pakistani Army.
Everything else are the stories from the Pakistani Nights, with which the population is kept preoccupied and confused.
The endless discussions about Islam, Pakistani Identity, the Indian Enemy, Politics and Democracy, anti-Americanism, are all bed-time stories for the Paki population, to keep them distracted or asleep.
Sweet Dreams
@ Raj: The writ of the state does not exist in the North- Eastern States of India but Indians turn a blind eye. The Indian police is equally corrupt and incompetent. They serve the vested interests of big corporations and the indian media is complicit in glossing over your problems. In Pakistan we have the guts to criticise and admit our failings. Indians tend to live in a self- delusional bubble.
Amin,
You are free to say anything you want about India. We know what we have. Despite Pakistani terrorism towards India, we will manage. At least we still have some people with brains and dedication doing something right in India.
What one sees in Karachi, is that even remotely civilized, with thousands getting killed? What one sees in FATA, with Taliban cutting heads with a pen-knife, is that even remotely human? It seems in Pakistan humanity has long died. Anyway still wish you all the best that Islam has to give!
the chief justice of pakistan needs to step down – crimes are going unpunished in pakistan due to the inability or unwillingness of his department to bring individuals to justice.
Nasir Yar:
You don’t seem to understand that even in Pakistan, to a large extent outside the boundaries of ‘religious space’the justice system is based on the old Indian system which is based on (English) Common Laws. Thank God it is very different from Sharia.
It is not for the Chief Justice to make laws or to bring the accused to the court, but it is for the the police to handle and prosecutor to prosecute. The judge wiould judge looking into both side of the story. So The Chief justice is really helpless and can’t do anything as the system has broken down and lawlessness appears to be a way of life in Pakistan.
This is also the case some extent in neighbouring countries too.
Perhaps Pakistan should ditch the modern Judiciary and adopt Sharia. Then the accused can be stoned or his head could be chopped off. Think about it!
Ask Yasser L Hamdani to explain a bit about these things to you.
Wa Salaam.
All right-thinking people will second the hope expressed in the title of this piece!
Taking hostages was done by M. and his followers also. This has a long history in the arab religion, a religion which refuses to accept the idea that mankind must evolve and needs new (self-made) revelations. The whole pakistani nation has been taken hostage. By the agents and quislings of the arab religion.
Don’t cry Argentina. It’s too late in the night. Wait for the dawn coming from the east.
But the cause of Wednesdays happened long back on Sundays…when Kshatra Tej was extinguished from the land by wrong Boudhist & Jaina interpretation seeping in the Civilization Bharat. It stopped producing Shake Shalivahan who took care of Huns who overran Eurocia… on those Sundays we slept when the brutes and their brutal ideology overran todays Iraq, Iran & then Afghanistan… in that sleep I had a dream … not a dream but a nightmare
I had switched off the lights and was sleeping in the interior room of our haweli with my brothers, sisters and parents. Suddenly I lost the two balls which I always had. I started searching in the room for those balls in dark. Some thing.. I guess it was weird noise of thumping of a book made me come out of the Haweli. There was this bearded old man in green (OMG) robe with an alien desert-y book in one hand and very old snake oil lantern in other.
I had seen him entering our village a day before. OMG was a snake oil salesman by trade. He told me to start searching the balls under the oil lamp near his feet.
I: “but I lost the balls inside in the haweli. Please give me that lantern so that I can search the balls where they were lost”
OMG: “it does not matter, bend over and start searching under my feet.”
I: “Why?”
OMG: “Because the book in my hand says so.”
I: “what is this book?”
OMG: “this is divine God’s book.”
I: where does it say so?
OMG: “you cannot understand so I need to read to you and make you understand.”
Then OMG starts reading some lines in alien language. I do not understand a bit. OMG makes me bend over and search under his feet while he was reading those lines.
After a while he stops reading and tells me..
OMG: “the book also says that if you search for your balls under my feet then not only you will get your lost balls but also get the balls of your brothers, father’s, even of your cousins’ and uncles’ who live next door. Imagine how rich and powerful you will be with so many balls. To get others balls you need to bring them to bend over at my feet.”
Now I forgot about my own lost balls and started desiring more and more of others balls. To bring others to his feet first I initially thumped books but later I started forcefully bring my brothers and cousins. To wake more people and bring them to OMG’s feet for bending over, and searching balls, one of my bearded passionate cousin came up with a great idea of using the Alien Snake Oil of OMG to set fire to the whole Mohalla, so that every one gets up immediately or roasted alive.
That is what we did! Many perished but we were determined to get at least 72 balls at OMG feet. Whole Mohalla and nearby neighborhood gutted in the fire. Fire spread to the whole village. The village of Guru Nanak, Guru Govind Singh, GorakhNath, Valmiki, Vashishta, Boudha and Mahavira was completely destroyed.
Now every one was bending over and searching balls under the lamp which OMG only possessed. OMG started calling us with alien desert-y names. We thought he is expressing love by his mouth the way he was expressing by his Dostum between his legs.
There was darkness everywhere. Long time passed… it was truly very long time and now my rear started paining…. when I looked up I saw vicarious smile on OMG’s face.. I realized he was a devil incarnate but it was too late. This alien Snake-Oil Bania Mamooo had made all of us utter Gandoos.
Truly we had reached the nadir of bestiality and stupidity.
Wake up you fool Gandooo! The alien book could be of 4th century, 7th century or 19th century Macaulayi/Marxy or even 20th century Harvadi Wall Streety. The bearded OM could have alien white, green or red (topi) garb. If you cannot find God in the eyes of a kid from your Mohalla, if your senses do not get filled by the native soil when it gets drenched by first mansoon shower then you will never get it from alien books. Those books were meant for you bending over.