Murtaza Bhutto

A TIME FOR SORROW
By Mazdak
NOW that the spontaneous outpouring of grief and anger over Murtaza
Bhutto's senseless and brutal killing has subsided, it may be possible to
discuss the implications of this act of violence. It is a sad but accurate
reflection on our society that it has taken the wanton slaying of one prime
minister's brother and another's son to bring into sharp focus the extent to
which we have become brutalised. Years of escalating violence and
bloodshed on our streets have immunised us from the pain and cruelty
inflicted on tens of thousands of Pakistanis by sundry security agencies. We
all know the chilling implication of the words "intensive interrogation" while
reading about the arrest of suspects in the newspapers, but we do not wish to
know anything about the torture that lies behind this routine phrase.
Similarly, we are all aware of the reality of the so-called "police encounters",
but again, ostrich-like, we pretend ignorance. Because it suits us to let the
cops beat and torture and kill, we don't protest at their methods. So in a
sense, we share the responsibility for the crimes our police and other security
agencies commit every day in the name of law and order.
But now that we have seen the PM's brother gunned down in cold blood —
supposedly in an armed encounter with the police — we all feel we could be
next. It is a measure of how powerful our law-enforcing agencies have
become that they know they can now get away with the murder of the rich
and the famous. To a great extent, our leaders have given the police a blank
cheque in exchange for doing their dirty work, and this includes cracking
down on the opposition whenever the need arises. Traditionally, our security
agencies' first priority is to protect the interests of the government of the day,
and all too often, this means cowing down those opposed to it, usually by
force. Given the many conspiracy theories swirling around Murtaza Bhutto's
killing and the government's low credibility, it is no surprise that nobody in
the country is willing to believe the police's version of events. Reports of a
major cover-up are doing the rounds, and the official position has been
severely eroded by the Prime Minister's own statement to the effect that her
brother was deliberately gunned down. However, it is clear that the scene for
this tragedy was set in Islamabad. Newspaper reports suggest that powerful
individuals had sanctioned strong action against Murtaza Bhutto's faction of
the PPP. And in the context of the reputation Karachi's police force has
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