Born of superstition

It is symptomatic of the retrogression in Pakistani society that heinous crimes are committed under the influence of misplaced notions of culture, religion and superstition.
The recent case of infanticide in Karachi is an example. A raid on a Korangi house led the police to the remains of a six-month-old girl buried in a shallow grave and her four-year-old sister trussed up and starved. The girls’ parents told the police that their house had fallen under the influence of ‘evil spirits’ and that a ‘pir sahib’ had appeared in their dreams to guide them towards this course of action. A case of premeditated murder has been registered against the couple, and further investigation may well lead to other reasons — such as poverty or insanity — which led to the crime.
However, there is no doubt that in Pakistan’s deeply conservative, illiterate society, holy men and pirs often exercise a pernicious influence over the credulous. There have been cases where such so-called religious men have raped and tortured or incited followers to commit inhumane crimes — the victims have generally been women and children. At the very least such pirs use their influence to extort money or goods. Unfortunately, only a few cases are highlighted, and even then little action is taken.
A two-pronged strategy is needed to counter this phenomenon. First, the public must be made aware of how they can be taken advantage of by crooks or sadists masquerading as holy men. Superstition and gullibility must be countered at every level for they affect the rich and poor alike. Secondly and more importantly, the role of the pir in the perpetration of violent or criminal behaviour must be recognised and treated as collusion in or incitement to a crime. The pir in the Karachi case may have been a figment of the couple’s imagination, but there are too many real pirs at work in the country.