Peshawar, especially is a damned city, first it became victim of the French mercenary, Paolo Avitable, who served as a Governor of Peshawar under the one – eyed Ranjit Singh , followed by the British and finally after voting for Pakistan in a referendum, fearing Hindu Congress will be no different, thinking their Muslim Rulers would be more just and humane to them .
This city once unfortunately served as a front line city of the KGB-Khad reprisal bomb blast attacks in the CIA sponsored Anti – Russian War. Peshawar continue to pay a high price for Pakistan acting as the American Coalition Partner in the war of terror that turned into the country and her citizens biggest nightmare that late Gen Mausharaf’s imposed on them that has now pushed the country into an abyss from which it is unable to extricate itself.
Sadly, the miseries of ordinary residents of Peshawar have yet not ended as this picture was taken at 9.10 am on 21st February 2023, at the junction of Shami Road Peshawar, joining the main Khyber Road, where a long queue of commuters were first subjected to snap checking by the sentries for whom I have great respect for performing their duty in difficult situations, especially every time they are put on high alert due to some information here or there about the security threat.
Sadly, these frequent threat warnings are accompanied by a heavy price for the ordinary citizens who are subjected to detailed screening time and again, when hardly any known terrorist either apprehend or prevented to enter the city at these check points, except that the troops are unfortunately exposed to high visibility in the civilian areas that is proving counter – productive for the image of the institution especially in the situations when they are assigned policing role for a longer period of time.
Nevertheless, the citizens during this routine checking are always subjected to one ritualistic question ‘ who are you? , from where are you coming? and where are you going? ‘ , that never improved the security situation rather added more to the sufferings of the citizens creating in them misgivings against their own security apparatus and its failure to restore peace, decade after decade, ever since, Russians arrived and even left from the neighbouring Afghanistan but we still foolishly continue to live in a state of insecurity.
It almost now 42 long years or two generations but nothing seems to have either changed or improved . One wonders is this entire exercise worth the money spent and lives lost, while the peace and security remains a distant dream for the residents of Peshawar, who have to identify themselves in their own city and are denied free movement.
Further up rikhshaws were denied entry on the Khyber Road by a conscientious Sub Inspector, who in my presence requested a kind citizen Mairaj Ud Din, serving as Assistant Manager Trainings ; at the National Institute Of Design and Analysis : to convey to his ( the sub Inspector’s) high ups in police that it was injustice for the poor to be denied access to the ‘ thorough fare ‘, especially the low cost Rikhshaw that the poor use for commuting, given the ever rising cost of petrol.
Unfortunately, the elite with absolute disconnect to the sufferings of the lowest strata of the society, now seems to have reserved this particular thorough fare for themselves on one or another excuse , given the road houses Corps Commander Peshawar Residence, Serena Hotel, City Court, Provincial Assembly and Civil Secretariat.
The irony is that this measure was taken reportedly on the orders of the High Court, the institution that is respected for its dispensation of justice to the weak against the powerful, leaving the poor citizens already crippled unable to meet both ends, making their survival difficult, with their escape from their endless miseries nowhere in sight , at the hands of the high handedness of their own privileged class, who are as good as the one eyed Ranjit Singh, with the one eye having vision for themselves, while the one without vision for others.
Ironically, these heartless leaders whether political, civil, judicial or military were the chosen choice of these citizens, thinking their common faith would bridge the gap of discrimination that existed when the land was occupied and ruled by the foreigners.
Given the plight of our own citizens deny us the advantage to blame others for the excesses committed against their citizens especially in the occupied territories , when we are no different in our treatment to our own citizen, who chose their country by choice then be occupied.