In a chilling and gut-wrenching incident, a professor, who had earned his doctorate from France, was shot dead in Kandhkot in an alleged feud over somebody’s so-called ‘honour’. Dr Muhammad Ajmal Sawand was brutally murdered by members of the Sundrani clan while he was en route to Sukkur where he was serving as a deputy director at a leading academic institution.
The professor’s death is a huge loss to the country and academia. In one of the several videos that are available online, the professor could be seen telling the audience before him that he was earning Rs30,000 for an hour in France, but he decided to return home to teach his own people. Alas! His dream to contribute to the country and teach its people died an untimely and tragic death.
While the security and economic situation of the country has led people to search for greener pastures, Dr Ajmal’s decision to return to the motherland was a testimony to his commitment to the country of his birth. As per the figures kept by the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, 832,339 Pakistanis went overseas for work in 2022 alone. Dr Ajmal was a rarity in this regard.
But what did his own people do to him; what did his country do to him? They failed him. With his death the reason has failed; the conscience has been asphyxiated; the hope for a better future and a civilised nation has been dimmed.
The abominable practice of feuds between and among clans over ‘honour’ or on any other pretext is a sign of a repressive, regressive and inhumane society. It has exacted a heavy toll on our society and needs to stop immediately.
The prevalence of this thuggery and culture of impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of such heinous crimes fly in the face of tall claims and decisions by the provincial government to rid the region of anarchy and bring some semblance of normalcy. Such incidents reveal how tenuous the control of the government and its machinery is over such matters and such areas.
It beggars belief that a government that wastes no time in unleashing force on peaceful protesters, be they teachers, health workers, students, or other human rights activists, is struggling to contain these violent elements that are hellbent on destroying the very fabric of our society.
It is high time the government moved beyond mere condemnations and rigorously implemented measures aimed at ensuring a better, secure and safer region with access to education, and zero tolerance for the obscurantist forces. Also, the perpetrators of this horrific crime must be brought to the book.
Besides, in recognition of his dedication and commitment to the cause of education and as a way to send a strong message to the forces of darkness, the provincial government should either build an educational institute in Kandhkot in the late academic’s name, or name an institute after him.
It will be a severe blow to the cause of education if the lamp the man lit was allowed to get extinguished by the negative forces in the country. It will be rather sad.
AADIL HUSSAIN
LARKANA
