In the heart of Parachinar, a devastating humanitarian crisis is unfolding as over 100 children have tragically lost their lives due to a lack of medical facilities as a consequence of an extended blockade. This catastrophe is both a symbolic and a literal testament to decades of systemic neglect towards a broken healthcare infrastructure system in Pakistan.

The crisis poses a critical question, why does such preventable suffering persist in a country that aspires to fulfil the dreams of its founding fathers? The answer lies quite explicitly in the deficiencies of a healthcare model where the absence of decisive leadership and structural reform at the top continuously fails to address the needs at the grassroots.

The blockade and the subsequent medical crises serves as a harrowing analogy to a deeply ingrained system of sacrifice. A system that thrives on the suffering of vulnerable groups in order to sustain an illusion of control and calm. Anthropologists report an archaic tradition from Maya antiquity with similar traits, one that symbolized elitist apologism. A form of sacrifice embedded in a ritualistic and eschatological system that, in the eyes of the elite justified the murder of the very people it claimed to protect.

The practice which went by the name of “k’i’ik”, or human sacrifice was periodically done particularly during times of crisis, such as impending disasters or existing calamities, in an effort to restore cosmic balance. This duality of claiming to be benevolent while perpetuating violence resonate resoundingly and with a startling familiarity with modern day healthcare in Pakistan. Much like the Maya we see the systemic negligence in Parachinar as a reflection of this “sacrificial logic” where the needs of the marginalized are ig