The forgotten

This refers to the report of the death of 16 persons in two road accidents in Balochistan (Oct 7). In July this year, Motorway Police estimated more than 15,000 deaths annually in road accidents. The WHO Health Profile put the figure of deaths in road accidents to more than 27,000 for the year 2017. Apart from the discrepancies in figures, the fact remains that more people die every year in Pakistan in road accidents than in all other crimes put together including terrorism. This fact has never been considered seriously either by the government or by society.

What we usually do after fatal accidents is that we express grief, pray for the departed souls, attribute the accidents to ‘fate’ and move on. We completely ignore those who get seriously injured in accidents and are left to suffer. Even the print and electronic media have no time to highlight this issue. I wonder who is going to try to resolve the issue. May God help this nation.

Sikander Aqeel Ansari

Islamabad