MicroPakistan

So my younger cousin Dani cannot play cricket anymore. Why? Because he’s been told not to. Apparently, he can’t have a ‘public meeting’ of more than 4-5 people and invariably a game of cricket requires many more, even if played on the streets.

The Sindh Government has, under Section 144 Cr.P.C. (Criminal Procedure Code), imposed a ban on carrying weapons, processions, public rallies, public meetings, at any place except weddings and funeral gatherings for 30 days, throughout the province with immediate effect. Hmm.

So Dani just finished with his exams and the poor guy can’t play cricket for another 30 days. Why? Because some maniacs decided to wreak havoc in the city a couple of days ago. Karachi witnessed one of its worst weekend’s of violence which left 41 dead. I feel bad for Dani. He must’ve been looking forward to his exams finishing and probably one of his modes of celebration was playing cricket on the road. It most certainly was mine.

I am afraid this whole Section 144 business just seems pointless to me at this point in time. What had to be done is already done. Small skirmishes will continue to take place in the city for the next few days and some more will lose their lives, but no one will ever be brought to account. Having seen those terrifying pictures of a free-for-all gun battle in the city it doesn’t really matter what Section of the Cr.P.C. the government invokes and what action it takes. Yes, the police will catch a few agitators along the way, but more often than not it will give the police another reason to harass innocent citizens. A few men enjoying a chat: Catch ‘em – unlawful public meeting. A group of guys walking to college: Catch ‘em – unlawful procession.

What I am trying to say is simply this: Having seen the helplessness (or the pretended helplessness) of the law enforcement authorities on Saturday it seems that if all those involved wanted to repeat their performance of Saturday the police would be inept and incapable of stopping them. So I ask the government why Dani can’t play cricket anymore. Maybe he still can, but why take the risk with our police. What is the point of such retroactive actions anyway?

I don’t think Dani minds playing cricket as much anyway. He has video games and friends to fall back on. But what about the ordinary Karachiites? How do they socialize without the risk of the police badgering them? Maybe I’m just making a big deal out of it. I don’t know. Maybe Dani’s parents are being over-cautious.

Either way, I wouldn’t mind Dani not being able to play cricket for a month as long as May 12th had been avoided. Unfortunately, it is a reality and that is what makes such foolishly late actions and restrictions on people’s liberties absolutely annoying.