WATCHING the details of Noor Mukadam’s murder case these days on Pakistani media has its own downside for me, and I say this out of personal experience. I am living in Canada since 2015. I came here after my parents, brother, sister-in-law and my 13-year-old niece were brutally murdered in Karachi on Feb 28, 2012.

The incident made the headlines in mainstream media for a few days, but then came a lot more that attracted media’s attention. We fought for our safety while still trying to deal with our grief and loss. We finally gave up. Our courage failed us. We flew to Canada on Feb 9, 2015, leaving behind our home, all our hard work and our lives. The sad part is that the ‘murderer’ is still alive.

We pursued the matter in the trial court, followed it up in the high court where he was awarded the death sentence on account of five murders. The matter went to the Supreme Court where we tried to pursue till we could, but the matter to date remains unresolved.

I lost my family, and was left to fend for myself. I had to appear in courts, fight for my property, fight for privacy, and fight for my children’s safety, while the country sat back and watched the drama; from silly theories to re-enactments without facts, we saw it all and it destroyed us forever.

Today, the same media is focussed on the Noor murder case, and it breaks my heart; breaks my heart for her family members who are not allowed to even grieve in privacy, and, if they are not complicit in the matter, even for the family of the accused who are not allowed to come to terms in peace with what their son is said to have done.

Pakistan surely needs to establish laws that may make people respect the privacy of the others, laws dealing with barbaric acts effectively and swiftly, and laws that may bar media from trying to gain viewership by stepping on the dead bodies.

Zaitoon Umer
Ontario, Canada

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2021