March 17, 2011

Price of two Pakistani lives? $2.3 million

Raymond Davis: The killer who walked. 
So what was expected finally happened. Raymond Davis, the man who killed two Pakistanis, walked. Should I be surprised? Should I be angry? Should I sigh? Should I even care?

All along we knew in our hearts (even though we pretended otherwise) that the killer of two Pakistanis will walk because he was an American. Why did we pretend that the government won't let go? That they will care about what the Pakistani nation thinks? It was because there was a faint glimmer of hope in our hearts that made us think that maybe, just maybe, the rulers will finally listen to the ruled; that they will finally stand up to those who dictate our destiny.

But in the words of a friend "...servants have the right to react...paid whores don't." And he is right isn't he? The price of two pakistani lives came down to a mere $2.3 million. Apparently those people who claim money can't buy everything live under a rock. As it so happens everything in the world has a price. Everything and everyone can be bought.

There is such a massive disconnect between our rulers and the masses. Just listen to what Angelina Jolie had to say when she visited Pakistan in the aftermath of the floods; that there are people and children who don't have a pair of shoes to wear in the heat while the government throws around lavish feasts and showers her with gifts.

The foreign policy, the interior policy, the fiscal policy is all mismanaged. But not only that, the managers in charge of the running of this country aren't qualified or capable enough to do so. The Rs 2 billion that this government prints everyday is only because it doesn't want to cut down on its expenses or its lavishness. It is too easy to print money and pay off their expenses. Meanwhile the common man is buried deeper and deeper under inflation.

Everyday someone hangs himself, someone commits suicide; someone poisons his kids and someone sets himself on fire; but its all in vain because as the poll on your right will indicate, a revolution won't come to Pakistan. The anti-climax after Raymond Davis' freedom proves that. The wife of Faizan committed suicide in vain; this government couldn't respect her wishes.

Am I a proud Pakistani today? Am I a better Pakistani today because we let Raymond Davis go free? No. I'm not proud and I'm not better. There isn't anything to be proud of. Today, by allowing Raymond Davis go free, the army, the judiciary and the government told us something. We're not America's servants anymore. We're its very own private whore.