Fatal medicine
November 28th, 2012
Death by drinking is not unheard of in Pakistan. The number of deaths caused by consuming substandard liquor runs into many scores each year. The incidence of such fatalities invariably picks up during holidays when imbibers revel as a group. But the 17 who died after having apparently drunk a cough-syrup based concoction in Lahore over the Ashura holidays did not consume the poison in a group. They had their fill individually. An initial official inquiry indicated they may have spiked the cough syrup, sold under the brand name of Tyno, for an enhanced kick. While the bottles they bought carried the same brand name some of them bore a price tag of Rs19 as opposed to the standard Rs42. But these clues raise more questions than offer explanations. One, a brand must have a certain reputation to attract the attention of fake manufacturers. Two, if users had bought the syrup individually, it is odd that each one on that particular day mixed it with a substance which turned it into a cocktail of death. The investigators should focus on whether the unfortunate users had bought some other drug from the same or another nearby shop to get the desired mix. The concentration of the deceased in one area of Lahore — Shahdara — should make it easier for police to narrow down the problem and unearth the racket. The outcome is almost expected: the probe is going to expose the nexus between desperate addicts and their heartless, greedy suppliers.
What has already been exposed though is the official failure of not learning from deaths caused by substandard drugs in the past. Almost a year ago, Lahore lost 150 precious lives due to the administration of a contaminated drug at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. Investigations into the case still continue while monitoring remains so lax that it allows the sale of all kinds of substances. On Tuesday, the district coordination officer arrived in grief-stricken Shahdara to discover a factory making spurious medicines — a few days late.
According to a health official, Punjab is yet to fully understand its requirements and responsibilities under the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan law signed by the president recently. The law, among other objectives, seeks to regulate the working of the pharmaceutical industry and aims to prevent the manufacture of fake drugs. This delay in understanding the new system is criminal and while the fog must be cleared as early as possible, the blame for the havoc caused by substandard drugs, as well as the misuse of known brands does, by and large, lie with the province.
In the line of fire
November 28th, 2012
It is unfortunate that society’s lack of respect for the police obscures the fact that men of the force regularly risk their lives in their attempt to carry out their duties in an increasingly violent country. They do this with poor training and equipment — a situation that renders them a prime target for a variety of violent elements. Take the example of Karachi, where, as reported, more than 100 policemen have been gunned down so far this year. Similarly, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over 600 police personnel are estimated to have fallen in the line of duty since 2007. Many of the murdered policemen in Karachi’s case were targeted by criminal gangs, as well as sectarian and religiously motivated militants. In the past, policemen associated with the 1990s’ Karachi operations have been systematically targeted, reportedly by ethnic militants, but the sheer number of those slain this year is a matter of concern. Most of those killed were from the lower ranks.
Although such a large number of policemen have been killed while performing their duties, the Sindh police high-ups appear to be unmoved. For example, there has been no real progress when it comes to following up on the cases of murdered police personnel. What is more, when policemen are killed or injured compensation is announced, but bureaucratic hurdles are created which make it difficult for the heirs to claim financial compensation, while corrupt elements within the police also demand a cut of the money before the families have access to it. Such disregard for the welfare of policemen and their families results in a corrupt, demoralised force unable to meet the challenges of urban policing. While better training and equipment are important, what is equally vital is to assure policemen that they will be looked after if injured and that their families will be cared for if they fall in the line of duty. This may boost their morale and result in better performance. The process of compensation payment must be reformed to make the amount sufficient, while the process should not be a humiliating one that adds to the miseries of the affected families.
Detestable practice
November 28th, 2012
‘Two jirgas decide fate of four girls’ — this headline in yesterday’s edition of the paper masks a universe of suffering and pain. Variations of it are printed with disturbing frequency in other newspapers too. In one of the cases reported yesterday and pertaining to the Sukkur/Shikarpur area in interior Sindh, a man accused of having had illicit relations with the wife (subsequently killed) of another man was ordered by a tribal court to hand over his two sisters and a niece to the aggrieved family under the ‘sang chatti’ custom (also known as swara or vani). Currently underage, the girls are to be handed over once they reach puberty. In the second case, a jirga in Khairpur district settled a ‘free-will marriage’ dispute by ordering a 13-year-old girl to be immediately handed over in marriage to a 50-year-old man. The police have been directed to register cases and make arrests.
The victims can technically be protected by more than one law including child protection laws and the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act 2011, which specifically lays out punishments for giving females in marriage to settle disputes. Jirgas themselves have been actively discouraged or banned, as in Sindh. Yet the detestable practice remains as entrenched as ever. This is partly because while there is much talk of the law in urban areas, it is not so easy to implement these in the dark hinterlands where state justice is elusive. What is needed is effective and prohibitive implementation. In the two cases, the names of the men convening the jirgas are known. They must be pursued, and made to face justice. Until the majority of men in the country are aware that the abuse of women is criminalised and that violators will face the full force of the law little real change will be forthcoming.