Karachi: There are all sorts of reliefs available for the elite but there is no relief for Dr Aafia Siddiqui, only because she is an ordinary citizen of this VIP-ruled country, said Pasban Democratic Party President Altaf Shakoor.
Talking to media here on Thursday, he said there are two standards in this country, one for the elite and the other for the poor masses. He said former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif has already been given a six-week bail for his medical treatment, but an ordinary citizen Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who was reportedly suffering from cancer, could not even think for such a relief, because she is not on the priority list of the Pakistani elite rulers.
Altaf Shakoor said this VIP-leaning mentality of the rulers haunts and compels the ordinary Pakistanis to think if this country was really created for the comforts and luxuries of the elite class. Did millions of Muslims of the subcontinent give great sacrifices for a country which would have to be ultimately ruled by the governments “of the elite, by the elite, and for the elite?”
He asked why the successive governments in Pakistan have always eagerly served the interests of the elite, at the cost of fundamental rights of ordinary citizens. He said if Aafia Siddiqui is a bonfide citizen of Pakistan, why the state and the government of Pakistan and their laws and rules are silent about her basic rights as a human being, as a citizen, as a woman and as a mother?
He said the elite class people can get bail, VIP protocol in and outside the jail and the right of their medical treatment as per their own choice. He said Aafia, reportedly a cancer patient, does not enjoy these facilities only because she does not belong to the elite class. He said three years have already passed to her last telephonic communication to her family. He said the Naya Pakistan government has already completed more than six months of their tenure, but there is no newness regarding the government’s policy about Dr Aafia Siddiqui.
Altaf Shakoor said these basic contradictions in the governance and implementation of law and constitution in Pakistan compel the patriotic citizens to think a lot about the real purpose of electing vested interest governments with their precious vote that are least concerned even about their fundamental rights. He said; however, we will yet once again appeal the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan to spare some time from his hectic schedule to think and decide if the fundamental human rights of Dr Aafia Siddiqui deserve any merit in his Naya Pakistan.