Playing with death

The fondness some in Pakistan have for firing bullets in the sky in order to express their joy, totally unperturbed about where and who the bullets will land, just never seems to go away. Year after year, reports emerge of people being injured or even killed during Independence Day, New Year’s Eve and wedding celebrations and after cricket matches due to aerial firing. Last year, around two people were killed and 85 injured in celebratory firing incidents during Independence Day celebrations. This year was no exception, with aerial firing on Tuesday night’s (August 13-14) Independence Day celebrations injuring at least 95 people in Karachi alone. Given the widespread nature of this problem, it is probably safe to assume that other parts of the country had to deal with injuries and maybe even deaths due to aerial firing as well. Guns and bullets, set aside for conflict situations in most countries, continue to double as fireworks/crackers amidst revelry in Pakistan and this is happening despite the fact that the authorities are taking a stricter stance against aerial firing.

Last year’s New Year’s Eve celebrations saw at least 65 people arrested across Karachi for aerial firing that wounded around 30 people, including women and children. This happened despite warnings from the police that those caught aerial firing would be charged with attempted murder and pleas from prominent political figures for people to prioritize safety during New Year celebrations. Sadly, pleas for people to do the sensible thing and stop using tools designed to kill as toys appear to be having little effect, even when backed by threats of stiff punishment. And it is not as if those doing the firing are unaware of the dangers involved. Aside from ordinary people simply getting carried away in the moment, aerial firing is often associated with shows of power and a means of reinforcing one’s status in Pakistan. This is an extension of the country’s ‘gun culture’ and serves as a means of flaunting one’s power. As such, politicians and other prominent figures who ought to be setting a better example for society are often involved in aerial firing too. For example, around 20 people were charged last January for aerial firing following local and bar elections in Faisalabad and a victorious PTI candidate was killed due to celebratory firing during the 2021 local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The problem is so deeply embedded that the Karachi police even had to warn their own officers not to engage in aerial firing in the run up to New Year’s Eve in 2023. If those meant to stop this crime cannot be trusted not to commit it, there is not much hope of stopping ordinary people from following suit. This pattern of the high and mighty happily breaking the rules they are meant to enforce and a ‘if it’s not wrong for them, then it’s not wrong for me’ attitude among many people explains not just aerial firing but much of the lawlessness we see in Pakistan today. Saving lives will require addressing such toxic mindsets.