Lahore, July 11: The increasing incidents of wanton violence and bloodshed across the country, including the recent killing of at least 18 people in Dasht, this week’s attack on an army camp in Gujrat and the daily killings in Karachi, not only expose a propensity by all concerned to resort to violence at the slightest excuse but also a consistent failure of the state to address inclination towards violence and to bring the perpetrators to justice, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said on Wednesday.

The commission said in a statement, “HRCP is extremely perturbed at the growing incidence and extent of violence in all parts of Pakistan. As many as 18 people were killed by gunmen in Dasht area of Balochistan close to the Iranian border last week. It must be investigated whether the motive for this attack was sectarian or ethnic. The claim of responsibility by a little known organisation must also be probed and the people informed what the official investigation has found. Condemnation of such senseless killing of innocent citizens by all political parties that carry influence in Balochistan will go a long way in exposing and alienating the extremists. Then there is the attack on an army camp along the Chenab bank in which seven soldiers and a police personnel were killed. This is a serious issue and the identity of the attackers should not be a mystery. Violence in Karachi has become such a regular occurrence that killing of six or seven people in the metropolis every day no longer appears to get the authorities’ attention. In another aggravation, faculty members of Sindh University, Jamshoro, were shot at and one of them, Amar Sindhu, also received bullet injuries. The teachers have been calling for addressing the deteriorating law and order situation in the university and apprehending and prosecuting the killers of fellow faculty member Professor Bashir Channar in January.

“All these incidents have two things in common: one, that the attackers are never apprehended, which emboldens them and others to continue; and second, that the entire country is overcome by a propensity for violence to the extent that a reasoned and peaceful discourse has become all but extinct. The discourse in parliament itself and in the media betrays increasingly bellicose tendencies. The most worrying thing is that nothing is being done to address either of these reasons, which cannot be addressed by the police or Rangers alone.

“When the people see regular and excessive resort to torture and violence by police and security personnel, emulating a similar approach may not appear as abhorrent to them as it should. That the perpetrators of all acts of bloodshed must be brought to book is of course the most elementary of things. But scientific methods of investigation rather than beating confessions out of people offer a better way to achieve this objective. Most importantly, steps must also be taken to root out violence from people’s psyche. Civil society and political parties with influence must not shirk from condemning bloodshed unequivocally, and from playing their role in challenging the trends of violence and brutalization of society.”

Zohra Yusuf

Chairperson