Poverty and social injustice once again claimed innocent lives.A tragic incident in Sialkot has shaken the province. A quarrel over merely thirty rupees ended with the loss of four young men, exposing the brutal reality of a society where helplessness and frustration have become the true killers.
The tragedy began when two brothers argued with a fruit seller over the price of bananas. Had they been financially secure, the matter might have ended with a smile, a few extra coins offered, and a peaceful walk away. But both were poor, living hand-to-mouth, stripped of dignity by the daily struggle to survive.
The fruit seller, too, was no different. He had no access to proper education, health, or employment opportunities. His own children depended on the few rupees he earned. When he called his relatives for support, they too came from the same background—hungry, frustrated, and broken by poverty. In blind rage, they all attacked the two brothers with sticks and cricket bats, beating them to death.
Onlookers recorded the incident on their phones. None stepped forward to stop the violence, none offered thirty rupees to end the fight. Poverty had turned them all into silent, numb spectators—zombies robbed of empathy.
One brother died on the spot, the other on a hospital bed. Soon after, the state too showed its cruelty—killing two of the attackers in a police encounter. Four young lives were gone, leaving behind grieving mothers and orphaned children.
Who, then, is responsible for these deaths? Not just the victims or the attackers. The real culprit is a system that feeds its rulers while abandoning the poor. Governments come and go—whether under N, Z, or IK—but none have given the people dignity, justice, or hope.