Nation Is What We Make

Law of the land

 

Asem Mustafa Awan

Two traffic wardens who should be role models are trampling all laws under the sun which are forced on the commoner who fails to observe them.

The photo speaks volumes about how the department has deteriorated over the years, with rampant corruption seeping in from top to bottom.

This picture represents the whole system prevailing in Pakistan as the two officials are way down the power hierarchy of the department, but their courage speaks volume of the institutional attitude that has seeped into the very fibre of the ‘uniform’ they wear to serve the public.

The two officials are riding on a motorcycle with no number plate, despite the fact that there was a recent drive against traffic rule violations, which continue to occur in various parts of Pakistan, especially in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The commoners are stopped, searched and harassed at different points, and people fearing these lawless individuals wearing the uniform are intimidated with questions that could boil the blood in seconds.

The public complaint cell, if it exists, has the most complaints against these police officials, followed by the revenue officers who deal with commoners’ land.

This picture is one of the many that exists in all the cities, districts and villages of Pakistan, where these people ‘trample the law’ as they please because the department itself has no respect for the law that is only ‘written’ for the commoner.

It is a common perception that when the funds allocated are ‘abused’ and are no more, these campaigns are done to fill the cash kitty which generates millions of rupees whenever it is needed in a matter of days.

Pakistan, the ‘land of the pure’, having more ‘poor’ now has millions of people using motorcycles who are believed to be ‘cash cows’ for the traffic police. They are eventually stopped and ganged up on at one point or the other, and failing to stop results in shooting.

Many motorcyclists have died at the hands of these police officials who, in order to cover up the crime, put the blame on the dead for being a terrorist.

There have been countless reports over the years but these murderers are never taken to task, and there are videos on social media where a policeman, in broad daylight, shot down and murdered another person, ‘a commoner’, and then went on his bike as if nothing had happened.

The traffic on the road represents the public and what goes on in the nation as a whole. This photo by Khurram Butt is an eye-opener and a wakeup call for the policy makers who have taken Pakistan to an endless and bottomless pit, and it says so much in so few words!

The writer is a journalist based in Islamabad and writes on a wide range of issues.

Photo Credit: Khurram Butt