(Nizamuddin)
Even ordinary citizens in Pakistan have to go through a lot of trouble to file a case on any issue, as their complaints are not heard in police stations. This situation arises when one needs to file a case against a powerful criminal or a person hiding in any form. In our country, it is considered impossible for an ordinary citizen to file a case. Even if an ordinary citizen files a regular or serious nature FIR (First Information Report), they have to visit the court multiple times, and until a decision is made, they seek refuge from the courts instead of finding justice.
"Because" lawyers fight the case based on the file of the investigating officer, they do not have the authority to investigate on their own.
In criminal cases, the failure to seek help, the accused not receiving punishments, or the escape of arrested criminals, all of these are blamed on the police and the investigating officers. It is said that in any case, it is the responsibility of the investigating officers to bring the accused to justice, but like other departments in Pakistan, the elements responsible for providing justice are mostly corrupt. This is why if a powerful accused is arrested in any criminal offense, the situation in the coming days becomes exactly according to the public perception. They get bail, and they are not treated according to the crimes they have committed. Not only the police but also the legal side provides them all kinds of facilitation. Thus, while keeping the legal demands on the back burner, they easily escape from the clutches of the law. On the other hand, if an ordinary citizen or a poor person is arrested in a similar case, they have to spend years or months in the struggle for justice. In Pakistan, criminal justice is rapidly deteriorating, just like the increasing gaps between the rich and the poor.
I encountered this system flaw when on March 15th, a notice was issued in the name of Salman for the auction of the scrap at the National Bank Head Office. But instead of inspecting the theft of government property, the bank employees Diesel Engineer Orangzeb Ahmed Sheikh and the nexus of the scrap mafia Faisal Memon and Kamran Usmani continued to make deals to find a place for the millions worth of goods being auctioned by the National Bank, with the involvement of Salman and Orangzeb Ahmed Sheikh. When Salman approached me to participate in this wrongdoing and to facilitate the theft of government property, he went to the Mettha Dara Police Station to file an FIR (First Information Report).
Instead of inspecting the theft, the concerned officer of the police station kept pressuring the thieves to make a deal and even entered into an agreement. Some bribe money was also given, but my conscience stopped me from engaging in any wrongdoings. In this regard, I contacted Additional Session Judge Mr. Vi South, who issued orders to the Mettha Police Station under Section 22-A. However, the investigation officer of the same police station, Khalid Hussain, informed the court that these matters belong to the purview of the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency).
Meanwhile, the officers of the same police station had already agreed to prevent corruption and theft inside the National Bank, which had previously been agreed upon through a deal. The purpose was that we again approached the concerned court for the FIA to take up the case. The court ordered us to submit a petition in the FIA and make a decision based on their report.
We submitted the request to the Director of the FIA and informed him via phone call a few days later that your case has been submitted in the FIA Crime Circle and you should contact them. We also provided the office address through SMS."
There was a record of the statement there,
A few days later, it was discovered that this case
is not from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)
but from the police.
That was the story that disappointed me with this system because the theft and injustice that I went to court to stop, the government officer had committed theft of public funds, and I, tired of the system of the court and the police, forgot about my eight hundred thousand rupees and returned home.
But then a friend of mine shared a video with me. It was a video of Justice Naheem Akhtar Afghan of the Balochistan High Court, addressing the lawyers of Balochistan and the members of the judiciary. He was narrating the painful story of a person from Karachi, which I will now recount in his own words:
"I went to the prison for an inspection. After the inspection, as I was leaving, a prisoner called out: 'Judge Sahib, please listen to me.' I stopped and said, 'Yes, I have come to meet you.' I went near the cell, and a 55-year-old prisoner started crying. Seeing a well-dressed person crying, I became emotional and consoled him. I asked, 'What happened?' He said, 'I am from Karachi.' I checked his history ticket, and he was serving a life sentence. I was surprised because he didn't look like a criminal. I asked, 'What crime were you convicted for?' He said, 'I was sentenced in case 9C.' I was amazed and asked, 'Did you work in narcotics?' He didn't stop crying. He said, 'Listen to me.' I said, 'Yes.' He continued, 'My niece got married in Quetta, and after a year, she got divorced. I brought my niece back to Karachi and filed a suit in the Quetta Family Court for the return of dowry. She got the degree. I was her attorney, and the court gave me her belongings, prepared a list with the clerk. I arranged for a truck to transport them the next morning. The truck driver came, and I handed over the belongings. When we reached near Othal, the truck was stopped at a checkpoint. They asked, 'Is this your belongings in the truck?' I said, 'It's my daughter's dowry, bedding, and household items.' I showed them the receipt, the clerk's report, and the court's order, but they arrested me. They unloaded the belongings from the truck, and I found 500 packets of charas hidden inside the rugs. They also arrested the truck driver along with me.
The next story is very strange. The inspector charged both of us under case 9C, and the Session Judge sentenced us to life imprisonment. I told the prisoner, 'You didn't hire a document expert, did you?' He replied, 'My defense was only this.' I arranged all the receipts and documents, despite that, we received the sentence. I was greatly distressed. I asked, 'What was your offense?' The prisoner said, 'I haven't been heard for the last three years in the case.' I was even more troubled. I'm talking about improving the system; keep it in mind. I reached Quetta and said to the Chief Justice, 'Sir, I have come from the inspection, and there is such a case. If you permit, I want to handle it.' He praised me and said, 'Yes, go ahead, this work needs to be done. Why are you asking me?' I took the file from the roster and told the lawyer to take a note if he is sitting in the pandal. He will remember it. I didn't take the name. I read the file at night "There, the statement was recorded. After a few days, it was discovered that this case is not of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) but of the police. This was the story that disappointed me with this system because the theft and corruption I went to court to stop, the government official himself was involved in the theft, and I got tired of the cycle of court and police in this system and left my eight hundred thousand rupees at home and went away.
But then a friend of mine shared a video with me, which was of Justice Naheem Akhtar Afghan of the Balochistan High Court addressing lawyers from Balochistan and members of the judiciary. He was narrating the painful story of a person from Karachi, a story that I heard in the words of Justice Sahib:
"I went to Khuzdar for jail inspection. After the inspection, I was about to leave when a prisoner called out to me. I stopped and said, 'Yes, I have come to meet you.' I went near the cell, and a 55-year-old prisoner started crying. Seeing a well-mannered person crying, I also became emotional and consoled him. I asked, 'What happened?' He said, 'I am from Karachi.' I checked his history ticket; he was serving a life sentence. I was surprised because he didn't look like a criminal. How did he get this punishment? I asked, 'What crime are you imprisoned for?' He replied, 'I was sentenced in case 9C.' I was astonished and said, 'If you work with narcotics, then you should receive punishment.' His crying didn't stop. He said, 'Listen to me.' I said yes. He said, 'My niece got married in Quetta, and after a year, she got divorced. I brought my niece back to Karachi and filed a suit in the Quetta Family Court for dowry return. It became a case. The court entrusted the girl's belongings to me, made a list with the clerk. I arranged a truck the next day. The truck driver arrived, I gave him the belongings, and we left for Karachi. When we reached Othal, the truck was stopped at a check post. They asked, 'Is this truck carrying your belongings?' I said, 'These are my daughter's dowry items, bedding, and household items.' I showed them the receipt, the clerk's report, the court's order, but they arrested me. They unloaded the belongings from the truck, and inside 500 packets of charas were hidden. They also arrested me along with the driver.'
The next story is quite strange. The inspector charged both of them in case 9C, and the session judge sentenced them both to life imprisonment. I told the prisoner, 'You didn't hire a document examiner?' He said, 'My defense counsel only did this.' I collected all the receipts and documents, despite that, the sentence was given. I was deeply troubled and asked, 'What is your profession?' The prisoner replied, 'I have not been tried for three years for a case hearing.' I was even more troubled. I am talking about improving the system; keep it in mind. I reached Quetta and told the Chief Justice, 'Sir, I have come from inspection. There is such a case. If you permit, I want to keep it with me.' He praised me and said, 'Yes, you should handle such cases. Why are you asking me?' I took the file from the roster and said, 'Fax the appeal in the morning and inform the lawyer. If the lawyer is sitting in the pandal, he will remember.' I didn't mention any names. I read the file at night, and I assure you, all the
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