BY pardoning those suspected of involvement in her husband’s murder, Shireen Jokhio, in her simple but heartbreaking video message released on Wednesday, presented a piercing indictment of the country’s criminal justice system. Giving reasons for her pardoning the suspects, Ms Jokhio said she had four children and was unable to run from pillar to post to seek justice from the courts. Her decision, she said, was not based on greed, and that she had not been offered any financial compensation. She had wanted to fight the case but had been abandoned even by those close to her. There was no justice in Pakistan, Ms Jokhio lamented, and said that she had left matters to God. Activist Nazim Jokhio had been found murdered last November at PPP MPA Jam Awais’s farmhouse in Karachi. The autopsy report had revealed that the deceased, who had been allegedly kidnapped shortly after filming the illegal hunting of the houbara bustard, had been brutally tortured. The family also accused PPP MNA Jam Abdul Karim of involvement.

Though Ms Jokhio’s pardon is not legally binding, her distress underscores how difficult it is to ensure that justice is done, even in high-profile cases such as this one. Evidence of this lies in the words of the attorney general himself who said in 2020 that the criminal justice system tends to favour the perpetrators over the victims. It is no wonder that people who do not possess the resources to access strong legal counsel, when facing pressure from powerful elements, give up their desire to seek justice for their loved ones or for themselves. Ms Jokhio’s decision to pardon the perpetrators is simply a call of distress. Her helplessness in the face of many odds is what a large number of people, especially those without means, encounter. The challenges are myriad and range from political interference in the justice system, to shoddy investigation, unprofessional lawyers and an unsympathetic police force. The question is: who is ready to address these deficiencies?

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2022