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Paralysed state
[DAWN] THIS is not the first time the Pak state has been cowed by a violent mob and surrendered its writ in favour of those who challenged it so blatantly. In a functioning democracy with a constitution in place, it would be unheard of for a government to agree to take action on a case that has gone through due process of appeals and been decided by its supreme court.But not in a state that is so given to paralysis at the hands of a violent mob. Such a state would continue to bury its head in the sand. How many more times will our state pretend that nothing is wrong by censoring the media and shutting down networks, effectively rendering millions of its citizens without due and timely information it is entitled to have, and choking press freedom by dictating censorship of violent protests in the country. Such apathetic apology of violent mobs also impacts private and public property directly; it causes billions in losses by paralysing business activity, impacts educational institutes’ functioning, causes ambulances to have no way of reaching a hospital, and spreads fear, panic and confusion amongst citizens who are guaranteed freedom of speech, right to information and freedom of movement by virtue of the social contract that makes its existence possible. All citizens are entitled to a range of fundamental rights. They have the right to express dissatisfaction over a judicial case, they have the right to come out and protest, and they have the right to demand a different course of action by the state. However, facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... it should be absolutely unacceptable to directly incite violence against the already persecuted religious minorities and all state institutions, to call for guards killing those they are employed to protect, and all over a case of a false accusation. Posted by: Fred 2018-11-05 |
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