Articles of the year 2020
Published on September 16th, 2020
The incident itself was horrific but the furor surrounding this incident is fuelled by the media in the unseemly scramble for details. They have not yet reached the stage of the more lurid, the better. This will undoubtedly appear soon.
Our media is known for their lascivious interest in detail, however the anger being voiced in terms of castration and public hanging is too wild for reality.
The law and punishments exist, it would be more befitting if other crimes could be given this seriousness that has been accorded in this instance. The rape of a five year old child surely deserves more attention. The many number of five year old boys and girls that have been sexually abused is numerous, documented, and never successfully prosecuted.
The law ministers such as, Rana Sanaullah are well known for having covered up the child porn rings that made Kasur famous in the international porn ring circuit. There have been no prosecutions under his tenure.
Imran Khan should perhaps draw attention to this serious aberration in our society, where sexual abuse of children is hushed up, at the police levels and is never prosecuted. Made worse by the financial position of the parents of the victims, who are too poor to resist the pressure of the perpetrators of these crimes. Their trauma is no less painful. Neither is the indifference of the media regarding such incidents. The interest of the media is unfortunate in the numerous photos of the white Hyundai, being made to look glamorous and highlighting the social position of the victim. This shows the sickness of the viewers whose interest is being encouraged to keep the crime alive and in circulation.
This is the sad twisted reality of our media.
Unfortunately Imran Khan is being forced into support of his chief minister because of the attacks being launched on him. This is a huge mistake because Sardar Buzdar would come under attack anyway, regardless of the rape or any other crime. Imran Khan himself is the target for the Sharifs and Zardaris. Buzdar is just an add on, being the nominee of Imran Khan. The Prime Minister should pay closer attention to successfully prosecuting the political bigwigs and the return of their looted wealth, which allows them to evade the law.
The entire media uproar over the motorway rape is to divert the attention away from the model town massacre, and other atrocities committed by the Sharifs and Zardaris. The police is doing an adequate job and maybe the arrests of the true culprits will soon happen.
The bigger danger has probably already begun by the doctoring of the evidence, in order to weaken the case when it comes up for prosecution. The high profile lawyers and media anchors that will appear on the scene will be easily identifiable by their political leanings. It is too important a matter to be delegated to the back pages. It will be headlines for a long time.
The public should realise they are being played. The media blitz has not begun yet, but we can imagine the pencils poised in anticipation, for the mileage.
I believe photographers are posted at the victim’s house for a photograph of the victim. This is an opportunity not to be missed... Such crimes should not be made a spectacle of.
The Indian Supreme Court has banned any publicity in such cases and has forbidden the publication of even the names. Perhaps our Supreme Court should offer such a ban.
However the PML-N shall not pass such an opportunity to attack a CM nominee of Imran Khan. This crime, with so much lurid appeal to the journalists and TV anchors will not die down soon. They will be working over time to create a frenzy, at the cost of the dignity of the victim.