By: Asem Mustafa Awan
Prime Minister Imran Khan is very passionate about the poor and down trodden masses and his speeches always include them which is a good omen but the truth of the matter is that all that he speaks should result in some actions.
The Prime Minister Complaint Cell was opened in October 2018, and it has done some work but this is nothing as compared to plethora of problems masses are faced with.
The simple category of orphans and widows deprivation in the system will give heart breaking tales of unfathomable tyranny and injustice.
Prime Minister wants to have the complaint cell centralized and the tech wizards are working to make it happen. PM IK vision for devising a system where all complaints when centralized will be checked, marked and decided sounds too good to be true.
The voice of the poor and the voiceless residents of Pakistan need more. The existing system in Pakistan is so complicated and cumbersome that a simple case take years and years to settle and by the time the decision is announced, the complainant and the defendant both are six feet under.
The need of the hour is prompt action which is binding and result oriented. Prime Minister Imran Khan has time and again pointed for establishing model courts which will work in a fixed time frame for certain cases and their decisions will be binding.
A simple example is placed before the honorable PM to please consult all legal eagles besides the honorable judges as all that glitters is not gold.
District courts should be visited and assessed as how many cases are there for land and how many cases involve orphans and widows who have been harassed, beaten and killed for their property. Taking up just one of these segments and streamlining it, would have applications numbering in thousands.
The need of the hour is devising a mechanism that should be in place to assist courts and help the poor who have spent their lives walking the court corridors seeking justice. The justice and decision is always taking the wrong turn owing to two individuals namely the ‘patwari’ (land revenue officer) and police investigation officer (IO) who after getting their palms greased changed the course of justice.
PM IK slogan justice for all should focus on eradicating the root cause and these two individuals are the only ones who are responsible for putting burden on the courts.
Lastly focal persons specializing in their specific fields should be made to sit and work on the complaints round the clock and their feedback should be weekly if not daily.
People in ‘land of the pure’ have very little to be happy about and if this centralized complaint cell as envisioned by the Prime Minister Imran Khan lived up to what he expects, it would make the entire nation happy.
The scale of this mammoth task is evident from complaints registered with the PM Complaint Cell in two years. The stats available has 2.3 millions complaints lodged which makes 115,000 a month.
These figures show how dissatisfied people are with the system and have only PM Complaint Cell to turn too. Forty per cent of solution rate and remaining 60 per cent have been referred to ‘unknown destination’ is far from satisfactory but at-least something is happening for the people so its commendable.
Prime Minister should announce teams and have a network of lawyers who have the love of the poor and not of their purse. The poor will weigh them with money and their life saving once they know they will not be ripped off from their belongings.
The two cases reported in media and created a lot of hype and were dismissed after lack of evidence namely actress Atiqa Odho who had an FIR registered on possession of liquor bottles and Abdul Majeed Achakzai whose land cruiser crushed a traffic constable Attaullah.
The masses opinion in kiosks and tea stalls were eye opening and depicted the real pulse of the nation which the policy makers are unaware off.
The new centralized complaint system is planned with a view to make life easier for the people but the question arise will it be able to deliver when the complaints overflow. How many mafias and cartels operate in the country and how many of them have been destroyed and demolished this remains to be seen.
The simple category of orphans and widows deprivation in the system will give heart breaking tales of unfathomable tyranny and injustice.
Prime Minister Imran Khan should announce people who have hearts that abound with the love of the people unlike the corrupt officials who do nothing and claim perks at the tax payers money.
What actually is happening can be gauged by the fact that angry public in Muzaffargarh cut the dacoit hand. The theft was foiled and dacoit was caught and people administered justice in true later and spirit. It is believed had it been sent to police the dacoit would have bought his way out in bribing the officials who would have allowed him to be successful in his next attempt.
The graphic image is on the social media and can be checked but the trend is very alarming as people with no respite in sight are now taking things in their own hands.
The removal of Inspector General Punjab Shoaib Dastagir sends clear message in the force which sadly has very little to offer to the public. It has been trained as a ‘repressive unit’ and has never won the trust of masses. Police Reforms as heard are believed to be a ‘power point presentation’ and nothing more.
The writer is special correspondent at The Dayspring