Editorial: Inappropriate ban on pillion-riding in Balochistan

Once again, the government of Balochistan has imposed a ban on pillion riding citing security reasons. The ban is continuing for the past many years and there was no let up in the violent cases against the humanity as the perpetrators of these cases need no permission to commit a heinous crime, kill a public figure in the public and escape. In the entire history, the security forces had never arrested any terrorist involved in assassination of political or religious figure in any part of Pakistan. Thus the ban on pillion riding is ridiculous and unthinkable as it provides no help to check the heinous crimes of killing fellow human beings or arrest the terrorists on the move.

On the contrary, the Government is punishing the poor people of with a modest mean and putting a ban on movement of poor people. Once we witnessed the FC personnel detaining dozens of student pillion riders who came out of their schools. They were caught close to their school and thousands of people witnessed the unjust act of the security personnel having no perception to act where, when and against whom. They were not at fault as they were not accompanied by any officer, particularly a commissioned officer, to guide them.

Balochistan is the country’s poorest province. Not many people are lucky enough to have a car to drive. Those in possession of a motorcycle are often viewed as privileged as a considerable number of people even do not have the resources to purchase a motorcycle. Many people, therefore, often beg for ride to their neighbors, colleagues and relatives to go to the city center of their jobs. Students largely depend on their class fellows to offer them a ride to school of college. Likewise, many TV journalists also travel on a motorbike along with their cameramen in order to quickly rush to a venue for the coverage of an event.

Instead of understanding people’s limitations and problems, the police and FC personnel stop the dignified citizens and abuse them publicly. They are often manhandled and insulted in front of hundreds of people. These citizens do not certainly ride on a motorbike as a fashion or to carry out some terrorist activities. They simply do it because of compulsion.

It is very unfortunate that several of bike riders in Quetta were detained for carrying a female, a sick or an old man over 60 years. Even in harsh conditions, there are some exemptions, particularly all those people performing their professional duties, those on maintenance of law and public order, old, sick, women and children. The ban order should have been accompanied by an instruction exempted special people on special duty. No foot constable should be allowed to detain, harass the common people at the public places. The Government had failed to provide cheap modes of public transport to the common people thus it had no right to impose a ban on pillion riding.

People would surely admire the efforts of the government if it had a few instances to cite where some real culprits of violent cases were detained through taking action against people doing pillion riding. So far such bans have only resulted in people’s disenchantment towards the government.