As many as three people died on Monday as they could not reach to the nearby hospitals due to the road blockades because of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) shut down of Lahore to demonstrate a protest against the government. According to the Punjab Health Department, a 17-day-old newborn was being transported to a hospital when she died on way because the ambulance could not pass through the demonstration of protest on roads. A 15-year-old boy was on way to a hospital but lost his life before reaching there because of PTI’s protests on roads. Another heart patient lost his life on way to a hospital in a rikshaw at the Joray Bridge.
We are living in a sorry state of affairs, what sort of political policies and strategies are these, where life of innocent is very cheep. Just to curb the rising anti-political voices orders given to kill over a dozen innocent people by shooting them brutally on face not even women spared, sometimes to disburse the protesters tear gas and shelling takes lives and last but not the least, now we are witnessing the deaths of innocents due to the political protests because deceased were not given the way to reach to the hospital.
However, PTI spokesperson Shireen Mazari said that PTI is not responsible for the deaths as the ambulance was carrying a body of a child while PTI demonstration of protests did not hold back other ambulances which were on way to hospitals. But a message of condemnation is not enough to heal the wounds of those who have lost their loved ones.
Taking advantage from the infamous incident incumbent government bashed hard to the PTI protesters. Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid went an extra yard and said Imran Khan is walking on the dead bodies of the people to get the political goals.
After some time of the incident he criticized the behavior of PTI workers and said that Imran Khan’s tigers are wolves for common Pakistanis and especially for women. He said that Imran Khan is training Pakistani youth as wolves and they have no respect for any one, they made their own supporter women and female journalist cry.
Punjab government spokesman and Punjab Assembly Member (MPA) Zaeem Qadri said immediately held a pres conference and said that Imran Khan’s apology to the people of Lahore is in fact hypocrisy.
Referring to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, he said that the party has gone against its promises and has caused civil unrest and disruption in the city. He stated that PTI is not a political but an extremist party which has Ijaz Chaudhry and Aleem Khan as its masterminds. He said that there are video evidences to show the violent attacks by PTI supporters to cause unrest in Lahore. He deplored over the attack on Metro Bus by PTI supporters saying that it is condemnable as it is a blessing for the poorest people of the city. He appealed to Lahore High Court to take immediate action against PTI for violating laws.
Leaders of the incumbent government are criticizing the deaths of innocents and saying culprits would be identified by the pictures and videos available. When government wants, miscreants who attacked the PTV building are identified but it becomes hard for the government to utilize the same technology to identify the people who were firing in Faisalabad which took a precious life during PTI protest. They are also found short of words to defend the brutality of police when 14 innocent workers of Pakistan Awami Tehreek including two women were killed mercilessly.
Leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf claim that youth of the country is backing them, but if this claim is true then PTI should have more responsibility than all other political parties to spread the message of patience and peace and not the politics of agitation. Although the Chief of PTI Imran Khan very often says in his addresses that respect the women, they are our sisters, mothers, and daughters but it seems that its not working out. What least PTI administration can do is to provide security to the media workers, especially to the female journalists during the rallies. It has become a terrible tradition that politicians blame each others for all the ills of the society. We are a nation going towards the lowest point when it comes to ethics and respecting the difference of opinions of others. It is a failure of the politicians that they are unable to find a solution to a purely political issue, which has brought the country to a standstill situation. There is no second opinion that whatever the reasons are, words would fall short to justify the deaths of innocent people. We are establishing a tradition of chaos and anarchy in our political system, which would be atrocious for the country where extremism is sky high.