We all parents are worried and sad to
see the killing of our daughter Zainab . This incident has diluted our faith in
our system and we feel sorry that we are living in a society where some do not
have human ethics and no respect for human beings. Innocent Zainab lost her
life to a merciless “darinda” who killed her for his lust. While committing
this heinous crime he had neither fear of God nor of the law of the Land.
The law of the land protects its citizen with the power of fear of action through the force of law; but it seems that law of the land is there but force of law has severally diluted, allowing the criminals to commit worst types of crime without fear. This fear of law stands diluted as the criminals while committing a crime consider themselves to be above the law and feel confident that they will manage to get out of it with the force of their political backing or by influence of their money. Moreover, the conversions of police complaints into cases are not very encouraging and there is hardly a real time conviction and hence there is no deterrent through the force of law.
The data of last few years indicates
alarming number of child sex abuse incidents followed by death of several
children who were later dumped on the streets and garage piles. The statistics
deeply trouble a sane mind and it is so unfortunate to see that these are the
circumstances of our beloved country Pakistan.
According to the statistics of a
nongovernmental organization a 10% increase in the cases of child abuse is
observed in 2017; on average 11 cases of sexual assault against children happen
every day. According to the report in the year 2016, almost 100 children were
murdered after sexual abuse, while 2410 girls and 1729 boys were sexually
abused, making the total number of victims to be 4139. Among major crimes
against children reported cases for abduction were 1445, for child rape were
502 and for attempted sexual abuse were 362 cases. The highest number of cases
of sexual abuse against children was reported in the province of Punjab, with
2676 cases alone in 2016.
The report also revealed a 19% increase
in the abduction cases of children; in 2016, 1654 cases of abduction were
reported, whereas in 2015 the rate of abduction crimes was lower, with 1386
cases of abduction all over Pakistan. Owing to the rise in crimes the number of
children abducted is reached to 5 per day. In the year 2016, 78% of total cases
of sexual assault were reported with the police, while police did file an FIR
for 142 cases. For several years Kasur has been a sanctuary for the criminals
and a torture cell for its residents, 720 cases of child abuse in Kasur,
similar in nature as to the incident of Zainab have been reported in the last
three years alone. In 2015 sexual child abuse photography case was brought to
light by the media, and it appeared that a decade long organized crime in Kasur
had become a norm, owing to the delay in justice and untimely force of law
despite many complaints by the residents, just because the criminals had
political backing. 280 children were victimized in this mega child abuse
organized crime and 400 sex videos of these children were made by force by a
group 25 criminals.
The police was made aware about these
incidents by the families time and again, that boys and girls under the age of
15 were raped and filmed to generate money from selling these sex tapes,
nationally and abroad. However no timely and substantial action was taken
against these criminals for years, why? When the issue became too big to keep
quiet the police made it a case of property dispute, while parents of the
victimized children were blackmailed either with the help of police or right
under their noses by these criminals to pay heavy sums, as the threat of the
sex tapes of their children being released in public hung over their heads.
Kasur incidents draw a clear picture of how our moral values and enforcement of
law has deteriorated. It also shows the failure of our political and religious
leadership and of the law enforcement agencies.
The Law again failed to provide
justice to the people of Kasur, as Zainab’s case is the 12th of its very
nature. In the last 12 months 12 other innocent girls, between the ages of five
to eight have been the victims of similar hideous crimes, where they were
kidnaped, raped and killed. The other cases were handled poorly by the police
of Kasur. Although the six samples of the victims sent for forensics proved
that all six girls were raped and killed by the same person, the system failed
to catch the culprit.
Reports also suggest that the claim
of the police to catch and kill the suspect involved in the crimes against
these girls was hallow and fake. Had the incident of innocent Zainab’s murder
not been highlighted in the media and had the people of Kasur not stood up
against the criminal wave hoovering over their city, it would have been yet
another case buried in the pile of hundreds others. The question here is, what
is reason behind the delay in justice ? Many protests erupted after these
rapidly occurring incidents, and despite the assurances of the law enforcement
officials, the key culprit is not behind bars and still is a threat to the
society.
Why our laws have failed to create a
deterrent for criminals and violators? Why the father of young Zainab blames
the system for the death of his beloved daughter? Can we stop any other Zainab
becoming a victim? These are all important questions that all of us should ask
and seek the answers for, because the diluted strength of law is felt at all
levels and in laws. Basically “rule of law” has been undermined and it has been
politicised and the “rule of law “ should have been there to use a stick for
better governance and protection and safety of citizen but here law is made for
the rulers to rule with impunity.
The killing of Zainab has not only left the entire nation sad but also has shaken our conscience. She is asking for Justice from all of us. The poor little girl must have cried and begged for her honour and life but the criminal dared to commit this crime fearlessly and shamelessly. We can only stop another Zainabs from becoming yet another victim of these paedophiles if we decide to have rule of law. The present law on child abuse with new added sections like 292A, 292B, 292C, 328A, 377A and B to the PPC 1860 prevents exposure of a child to seduction and creation of child pornography and these acts are punishable by law. But the question remains that despite the laws to regulate societal behaviour, what is our law enforcement agencies like Police doing to stop these filthy criminal?
Today let us make sure that Zainab
gets Justice and we should not allow this matter to die or get dilute. Llet us
set this president and bring change in law where we need to improve it to
protect of our children/ coming generations. Let us pursue the move to get the
killer of Zainab behind the bars and also to ensure his public hanging.
The Article has been published in
“THE NATION” on January 17, 2018.
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