There may be a delay, but not darkness

It is a very old story. As soon as I raised my hands to pray after the morning prayers in the waiting room of Multan Railway Station, a burqa-clad girl entered the room. After praying, I jumped up and left the room without answering her. I was very worried because of the curfew. My opponents were determined to kill me due to a land dispute.

I thought to myself that perhaps they had put the woman behind me to trap me in some kind of trap because at midnight, my opponents also reached the station to board the same car that I had boarded from Sahiwal. They sat on the bench near the one I was sitting on the platform.

The car arrived but I remained sitting.

I thought that when they sat in one compartment, I would board another compartment, but their mood was not good. They wanted to board my own compartment.

When the train whistled, I ran across the line and ran to the other side of the train and sat in the compartment near the engine. They were also not going to give up on me easily. While searching, when they reached this compartment, I went to the toilet.

They did not find me here and boarded another compartment. The train started, when I reached Multan at four in the morning, my opponents occupied both the doors leading out of the platform, but I escaped their sight and reached the waiting room and had just finished praying when this girl disturbed me.

The allotment of my land was cancelled by the district administrator and he had put me in trouble just for raising a family.

I had to file an appeal against this in Multan. My opponents wanted to remove me from their path at all costs. I was alone. Except for Allah, no one else was there to support me. Only the prayers of my parents were involved.

Meanwhile, thousands of appeals were pending in the court of the Commissioner in Multan. The hearing did not take place for years. I went to Multan to take a history.

The girl was also badly disturbed by her opponents in the land allotment process and had come inside to ask me for the address of the commissioner’s office and get directions. When I ran out, she also came out in a panic. I asked her sternly: “What do you mean by coming to a male waiting room like this?” She said in a very low voice and with great humility: “Yes․ We left for the commissioner's office. Finding a match there was not an easy task. The girl said that my mother's last jewel was also sold, of which I have only fifty rupees. After that, we will have nothing to eat. My financial condition was also similar, but my heart testified that the time for the day of trouble was near. Our matches had been found.

Now a lawyer was needed for the hearing of the case, but we did not have the money to hire a lawyer.

Coincidentally, my case was heard first. The officer in charge was very fair. He listened to each of my words carefully and gave the decision in my favor. I was happy to get justice, but at the same time, I was worried about the thought of hearing another case. So, when the hearing of the second case started, I wanted to explain the case.

The girl's opponents objected that they were neither lawyers nor plaintiffs. In what capacity were they speaking? When the officer in charge asked, I told them that people who are persecuted by the injustices of society do not have the money to pay the lawyer's fees. The plaintiff and her daughter are present in the court. As the son of a mother, I should be allowed to speak on their behalf.

The officer in charge allowed this. The conversation was brief. Despite giving great legal arguments in an hour-long speech, the opponent's lawyer could not convince the court and the court ruled in favor of the mother and daughter.

When we left the courtroom, two thick tears fell on my feet. I felt that both the mother and daughter were crying. They hugged me with great emotion.

Mother was kissing my forehead. My daughter was wrapped around my arm. She was looking at me with grateful eyes when a young man from a group that had enmity with the opposing party came to us and offered us two and a half thousand rupees as a land contract. He also said that we know the possession etc. and we know our job. You take the money and write a receipt. We took the contract money right away and wrote a receipt. I wanted to go home quickly and tell my parents the good news, so I asked their permission and returned home. I have not been able to forget the moments of happiness that I got at that time.