Usman Khan Kakar - A Loss For Pakistan's Progressive Politics

Usman Khan Kakar - A Loss For Pakistan's Progressive Politics
Balochistan has, once again, plunged into a state of mourning over the tragic death of Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) senior leader and former senator Muhammad Usman Khan Kakar. He succumbed to brain hemorrhage at a private hospital in Karachi on Monday (June 21) after sustaining a severe head injury at his residence in Quetta.

According to his family, Kakar was found lying on a carpet in the guest room on June 17, flooded with blood emanating out from his head after being killed cleverly in a ruthless strategy. However, his autopsy report has revealed no signs of torture.

General public is seething with rage over Kakar’s mysterious death following a hue and cry in political circles as the members of opposition in Senate raised suspicion over the "sudden death" of veteran senator Usman Karar and demanded an impartial parliamentary committee to probe the death.

But how can we repose trust in so-called parliamentary investigations when parliament itself is acting as a toothless, redundant legislative body? Unfortunately, perpetrators are given free hand to take the law into their hands and roam free with chilling impunity.

Given the disturbing development, the space for progressive politics has shrunk alarmingly in the country. Sane and critical ideas are being muzzled, for their vociferation within the walls of parliament.
Outspoken and daring politicians like Usman Kakar are silenced forever. Why all those who dare to resist undemocratic forces and speak out against brutalities are eliminated through mysterious tragedies?

Balochistan has been deprived of another son of the soil. The province can't afford to lose its democratic icons one by one. Murdering the towering nationalist political leaders through mysterious plots will only add to the province's sense of alienation in the parliamentary politics.

Usman Kakar was a fierce advocate of the people of Balochistan. He had always been actively struggling for the preservation of rights of Pashtun and Baloch people. From the cold-blooded murder of Hayat Baloch to questioning the credibility of CPEC, he had been quite vocal and left no stone unturned to fully represent the province.

He was a powerful voice for voiceless people. He was a ray of light in the dark hours of the oppressed and the downtrodden. Kakar's death is a great loss for the country as a grievous blow to the cause of democracy.

His services for the people of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would always be remembered. The name of Usman Kakar will forever resonate in Pakistan’s progressive politics.

May Almighty Allah shower his choicest blessings on the Kakar’s departed soul and grant him a plush place in heaven. I pray that the Almighty gives his bereaved family the fortitude and strength to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity.