Zill-E-Shah; Another pawn in the bigger man’s game?

“The worst evils which mankind has ever had to endure was inflicted by bad governments” Ludwig von Mises

On 8th March 2023, Ali Bilal alias Zill-E-Shah, a worker of PTI (Pakistan Tehreek E Insaaf) succumbed to his wounds, after being arrested from PTI’s public rally and later, being subjected to severe torture, in Lahore.

Although, we know that tragic events like these aren’t new at all, there are a few questions that need to be addressed, so that this isn’t just another civilian of Pakistan killed.

How and why did he end up dead? How can someone in police custody be tortured to an extent that they lose their life? How could this happen without the consent of senior police officers? Isn’t the police there to help and serve us?

Who were the men who brought him to the hospital in a black 4×4? Why did they leave after Ali was declared dead? How was the FIR registered at 4.30pm blaming Imran Khan and PTI workers for his murder? And it was done on whose orders?

Zil-E-Shah and others were arrested under Section 144, which states that all sorts of public gatherings are now banned. On the other hand, which law allows policemen to manhandle peaceful protestors. The link below show’s clear footage of Police beating protestors, after arresting them. https://twitter.com/Hammad_Azhar/status/1633482577955766272?s=20

According to the post-mortem report, the victim had 26 different signs of torture on his body, including invulnerable areas and a badly damaged portion of his skull. Moreover, the damage to his testes led to the laceration of his liver and spleen. How barbaric.

The care taker, CM Punjab, Syed Mohsin Naqvi, claimed in an article published today (11th March) that a traffic accident caused the PTI employee’s death. It was a blind murder case, and that he was being accused.

But later, in a press conference he admits that their initial plan was to arrest some of the workers and later leave them someplace far away. Quite a turn of events?

According to sources, his corpse was dumped not far from the Fortress Bridge. CCTV recordings were erased. After tweeting this for two hours, Lahore Police released a new account, claiming that he had met with an accident at Fortress Bridge.

Let’s suppose this was actually the case. In a video shot in the police van, there are several others present with Ali Bilal, where were they when he was thrown out of the car near Fortress? Since they were in the same van, they must have seen something. Where were they when he was being tortured? Why was only Zill-E-Shah thrown off near Fortress?

Interviews given by Zill-E-Shah’s fellow workers are dubious and not satisfactory. They seem like they’re being threatened. And according to them, if everyone got off the police van, did they see Zill-E-Shah’s accident happen? Secondly, where are these fellow PTI workers now? https://twitter.com/ShamaJunejo/status/1634463076694065152

Another scenario could be that if the police did let Zill-E-Shah go, and he died in a road accident, then why and how is Imran Khan being accused in an FIR filed by the Lahore Police, stating that he is behind killing his own worker?

There is also a fabricated audio call being circulated on Twitter. A call between senior ISI officer and SP Operation, Lahore. And it is proven by the SP’s fellow batch mate that the call is counterfeited. Amidst so much chaos, the gap between the institution of police and civilians is likely to be filled by such rumours, only leading to further increase in disparity. https://twitter.com/imrancl/status/1634422722905231360?s=20

Zill-E-Shah was ganged up on by policemen and together, they inflicted pain on him. All this wouldn’t have been possible without their superiors knowing about it. Yet they still let it happen? Why?

And, mind you these are the very same police officers that pass the competitive CSS examination, swear to do their jobs ethically, only to be part of the bigger picture. Act as mere puppets for their master. Just pawns in the bigger game.

Every year out of a vast majority, specific percent has the prestige of serving and honouring people, being their confidante, and this is what happens to them. They get murdered in cold blood, by the very own people they were supposed to trust and rely on.

The deceased won’t come back, but it is our duty to make sure that the public is aware of these circumstances. How unfortunate it is to be part of a country that isn’t aligned with the laws that it itself has put into place.