Your editorial “Mob Wave,” published in The Nation on June 23, 2024, thoughtfully depicted a horrific incident in Swat. You rightly criticized the well-equipped Madyan police for abandoning their primary duty of protecting a precious life. The police’s cowardly action of fleeing from their sacrosanct duty, leaving a suspected tourist at the mercy of an unruly mob, should be thoroughly investigated. Surely, the police could not have acted alone in allowing the suspected individual to face the fury of an enraged crowd without the consent of their superiors. There should be an impartial and transparent judicial inquiry to ascertain the real facts and hold those involved in dereliction of duty accountable. Continuously punishing lower-ranking officers while sparing higher officials is a mockery of justice. It is both strange and shameful that a tourist, snatched from a well-guarded police station, was brutally beaten to death. All those involved in resorting to mob justice should be identified and given exemplary punishment according to the law to prevent the recurrence of such abhorrent incidents.
It has been noted with anguish and grave concern that mob violence and vigilantism are becoming the norm in our society. Every now and then, we encounter avoidable incidents of mob justice. This dangerous trend is engulfing our country and badly tarnishing our image as a law-abiding nation. Sir, we are not a primitive society or a lawless African country where the law of the jungle prevails. We are a civilized country with a written constitution, a network of courts, and law enforcement agencies. This disturbing trend of mob justice, lynching, and vigilantism should not be tolerated, and there should be zero tolerance for such actions in a civilized country like the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
A deadly wave of lynching and vigilantism is spreading, with frequent incidents showing an upward trend in Punjab and Karachi. This wave needs to be quelled immediately to enforce the rule of law. People are becoming impatient and intolerant, taking the law into their own hands due to delayed justice and dubious police actions. Recently, we witnessed a horrific incident of mob justice involving a Christian family in Sargodha over alleged blasphemy charges. Timely police intervention saved precious lives. The painful incidents in Jaranwala, Sialkot, and the lynching of muggers and innocent employees of a telecom company in Machhar Colony, Karachi, are still fresh in our minds. It is high time that all forms of mob justice in the name of religion, extremism, or alleged crimes be forcefully curbed to ensure the supremacy of the law. A multifaceted approach is required to curb the tendency to take the law into one’s own hands.
A rapid response mob police unit should be created to handle such situations. Loudspeakers in mosques and pulpits should be used to discourage people from becoming unruly. Islam emphasizes verifying facts before making any unjust or hasty decisions based on hearsay or conjecture. Tolerance and forgiveness are hallmarks of an Islamic society, and there should be an awareness campaign to educate people about the legal repercussions of taking the law into their own hands. The dynamic aspects of Islam should be projected.
In the instant case, let all culprits face the full force of the law to discourage and prevent future incidents of lynching and mob justice. Exemplary punishment for those who resort to vigilantism and lynching will surely deter the growing tendency to take the law into one’s own hands.
QAMER SOOMRO,
Shikarpur.