Blind to Bounds

This is from a news report I paste from the TRIBUNE.
Salmaan Taseer’s killing: ‘Political’ murder?
LAHORE/KARACHI: The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has declared the killing of Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseera “political murder” timed to occur during a serious political crisis threatening the embattled government.
Taseer, 66, was shot dead outside a café in Islamabad on Tuesday by one of his own security guards incensed by his statements against the controversial blasphemy laws.
It was a political murder, and it did not have any religious motivation, Law Minister Babar Awan, the most vocal cabinet member of the PPP, told journalists outside Taseer’s residence in Lahore. He demanded that the Punjab government unearth the “real motives” and expose “the real culprits.”
Awan also pointed to, what he called, “serious lapses” in Taseer’s security. He said the assassin guard – Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri – was assigned the duty notwithstanding a police special branch report which declared him unfit for the security of VVIPs. Awan faulted the Punjab government but said he was not blaming it for the murder.
The story goes on…
http://tribune.com.pk/story/99807/salmaan-taseers-killing-political-murder/
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In the words of Oscar Wilde, “Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people”.
Yes time and again we sing songs of democracy and make it the only viable and sustainable way of governance. No doubt but then the package of ‘DEMOCRACY ’ comes with it’s disadvantage too. Using the situation to their own benefit converting it into public sympathy and then cashing it into votes to win the elections.
There could be no second opinions to the fact that Taseer’s murder by 27 bullets by his own guard of the Elite force was one of the most ugly faces of terrorism that it has shown in the name of religion.
It is also a sad truth that we saw many a places in real life as well as in virtual places like FB people rejoicing his murder either on the pretext of his lifestyle and many simply because they were political supporters to the other party which did not leave any occaision during his lifetime to malign him, both politically as well as personally.
In my personal common sense if this was a politically incited murder then the assassin would’ve been gunned down instantly in order to silence him and erasing the likelihood of being proved a political murder.
Of all you know there may be some grain of truth in it but if the ruling party was really sincere to do more good for the people, for the country and even for the religion ISLAM, they would have conveniently stuck to the stance of this murder being on a religious base.
The assasin himeslf admitted he did it for his religious sentiments against the Governor for speaking against the Blasphemy Law .
The ’moderate’ and ’progressive’ ideology of the ruling party has been condemning the ’black law’ all through.
If the same ruling party was really sincere in repealing or at least stirring a stronger opposition to this ’balck law’ they could have believed in Qadri’s stance of having labelled Taseer as a ‘Gustakh-e- Rasool’.
But unfortunaltey since democracy can only flourish with the ‘will of the people’ and the political parties can only come in power when the will of people gets en cashed into the ‘vote bank’. And the easier way to get a vote bank is not to win the peole by doing good work, but by maligning the opposite group and attempting to minimise their vote bank.
Unfortunately this is what the party of the ‘shaheeds’ resorted to yesterday by giving the statement that it is a ‘political murder’.
But alas, to all political parties, in a democracy, their party interest reigns supreme as against the interest of their people , their country or their religion. Why would then the current ruling party stay behind and sacrifice it’s prospects of the future sympathy wave for itself? Who cares whether Blasphemy Law stays or goes so long as the party stays in power.
After all, they are in a tight position currently and what better time this assassination would have chosen to occur.
Ilmana Fasih
6 January 2010