The Tragedy
A car driven by a Pakistani army officer ploughed into a pro-Palestine protest camp in Islamabad, killing two demonstrators and injuring four others. The incident occurred on Monday near D-Chowk, the capital’s central square where protesters had been camped for several days. A speeding vehicle approached the scene at 2 45 am on Monday 20th may hitting the police barricade and crushing the sleeping protestors. Two of them died on the spot while four severely injured including a police inspector.
Aftermaths and the Protestors
The driver fled the scene but was apprehended by police shortly afterwards. He was identified as an serving army officer and handed over to the military police for further investigation. Despite the tragedy, protesters vowed to continue their demonstrations. They condemned the Israeli military actions in Palestine and called on the Pakistani government to take a stronger stance in support of Palestinians. Pakistan has a long history of supporting an independent Palestinian state and has repeatedly voiced its opposition to Israeli actions through the United Nations. However, some protesters, like student Rabail Shahid, criticized the government for failing to ensure their safety, especially considering the high-security Red Zone location of the protest camp. The driver was a serving lieutenant of the Pakistan Army and his Father is a retired Brigadier. Such criminal negligence demonstrated by the officer is unacceptable however prevailing from the most powerful of the groups of the country it seems that he will to get away. The incident was reported by print media earlier when FIR was filed at Kohsar police station but afterwards there has been complete silence. Identities are not revealed, no platform of electronic media highlighted the story. Dawn followed the story censoring the names of the officers involved but mentions the source from police station who revealed the ranks of the officer and even told that the father of the brigadier reached on spot to add pressure on the duty officer. Norm that most of the power groups follow full story from Dawn can be checked out here.
The driver has been handed over to military police while it was a clear civil case and he should have been brought to justice however things are always supporting the powerful in this country. Where the names are even censored so will be the crime as our history suggests.
The Deceased
Mohammad Roman Sajid, a prominent student and activist amongst the prominent activist and perhaps first martyr for the Palestinian cause on Pakistani soil. Identity of other man is unknown but He was a elderly figure of about 50 years old and He was so brutally dragged that his head was separated from the body unable to be identified. That’s how brutal the accident was, anyways no one is talking even no names are revealed as if it was Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.