Blazing gun as a counter-argument in Pakistan
Sabeen Mahmud is only the latest Pakistani to join a long list of rights activists, journalists and progressive voices that have been silenced by the deep state for proffering an opinion that does not appeal to the powers-that-be. Sadly, she will not be the last. In fact, even as this editorial is being written, there is news of another Pakistani intellectual, Syed Wahidur Rahman, a professor, a former journalist and reportedly a member of the persecuted Shia community, being shot dead. It is not clear why he was killed but it's hard to ignore the fact that the professor taught at Karachi University. On May 3, Karachi University was scheduled to host a discussion on the role of the state in Balochistan, where a bloody insurgency rages and where the Pakistani regime runs a brutal and oppressive campaign. The event was titled ‘Un-silencing Balochistan Take 3’.
Notably, Sabeen Mahmud was shot right after she had hosted a similar discussion, titled ‘Un-silencing Balochistan Take 2’, at her Karachi café. The event was to be held at lahore University but, after pressure from official sources, the university backed out and the event moved to Islamabad, where all, but one, panelist was changed. The Pakistani establishment has become increasingly intolerant of dissent and anybody who dares to oppose the state's policies or its principal actors and their pet projects risks abuse, harassment, torture and death. It doesn't even matter if one is powerful or popular. The Pakistani state and its convenient non-state proxies have become so brazen that they are least bothered by the global shame that comes their way when the country's top journalist or one of its most powerful leaders is gunned down in broad daylight.
Mahmud's assassination comes just a year after two of Pakistan's most high-profile media commentators, Raza Rumi and Hamid Mir, were attacked in separate incidents. Both were critical of state policies, and even though both, thankfully, survived the assassination attempts, through their attacks, Pakistan's powers-that-be had successfully reiterated their grizzly message. The rot runs deep, and this is perhaps most evident in the case of Salman Taseer — the Governor of the prosperous Punjab Province, who was killed in 2011 by his own bodyguard for campaigning against Pakistan's draconian blasphemy law. Months later, the bullet-ridden body of journalist Saleem Shahzad was found in a ditch.
like Hamid Mir, Shahzad too had expressed concerns about his safety. In fact, he was hoping to flee the country, after being summoned to the headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence for his story on Taliban co-founder Mullah Ghani Baradar that supposedly depicted Pakistan in a negative light. The list can go on, and it is tragic that these attacks and killings happen with complete impunity. Investigations are initiated but almost only on paper, perpetrators are rarely put on trial, and even if the foot soldiers are incarcerated, there is no accountability for their political masters.
