The moment I hear about a tragic road accident on Karsaz Road in Karachi on August 19 involving a cold-hearted young lady (as portrayed in the media) – who mercilessly ran over a father and daughter with her car – the first thing that came to my mind was John Keats’ poem “La Belle Dame sans Merci”, which is about a beautiful, yet heartless woman who leaves destruction in her wake. The ballad mirrored the young lady’s actions, where her reckless behavior and privileged position led to tragedy without remorse.
Another thing I noticed was that when the lady’s influential family arrived at the scene later, the brand of her car became irrelevant. It was just an accident, and I also commend the driver for not fleeing the scene. The police arrived promptly, and the rare presence of military personnel at such incidents was also noted. It was later revealed that the lady holds a British driving license. However, it should be understood that a license is merely for driving and not a license to act like James Bond.
Furthermore, the lady would have been granted bail under Section 320 (accidental death due to rash or negligent driving) instead of Section 322 (death due to one’s negligence) if she had a Pakistan-issued driver’s license. An initial medical examination confirmed that she was not under the influence of drugs. However, an unconfirmed medical report currently circulating in the media suggests that traces of isopropyl cocaine ethanoate (also known as ‘ice’) were found the lady’s body fluids.
It is a human responsibility to protect vulnerable people, such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists
Dr Chuni Lal, head of the Psychiatric Department at Karachi’s Jinnah Hospital, also declared her mentally fit, which rubbished the claims of the lady’s husband that she had mental health issues and was under treatment for the past five years. Putting together all the pieces, we can say that she was simply driving recklessly and was speeding to avoid the previous accidents, which were thankfully not fatal.
Speeding at around 100km/h on the service lane, she rammed her Land Cruiser into a motorcycle, killing both motorcyclists: a man and his daughter, who had been struggling to improve their lives. The lady driver’s attempt to flee after the non-fatal hits shattered the dreams of another family. Again I would say that this was merely a road accident, and may God protect everyone from such deaths.
The only reason the incident is being hyped so much is because the accused is from an elite background and the victims are from a poor family. The guilty need to be punished indeed, but the growling of the so-called rights activists of the digital world, whose online presence is their sole existence, would have been more justified had they spoken out with equal passion about dozens of people who lose their lives on roads every week. Instead, their silence on this issue is deafening.
According to the law, when someone is driving a high-end vehicle, it is a human responsibility to protect vulnerable people, such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, as is the case with Land Cruiser-type vehicles. In this accident, human protocol was not observed. The most tragic part of this incident was that the lady’s husband callously stated that the affected family could claim diyat (blood money) from them. But what if the family only seeks justice? What we have seen so far is the societal power dynamics that were at play even before the lady’s detention. Whether the government be able to provide justice to the victims and punish those responsible is something yet to be seen.