It’s been a really long, hard day. Although the later part of it was spent doing some critical (and very tiring) configuration on remote servers for totally unrelated projects, my day started at the courts.
Ever since my accident a couple of weeks ago, the windshield-less car has been gathering dust and who knows what else at the police post nearby. I didn’t have the time to go through all the procedures required to get it back, nor the heart to look at it again, but it’s something that has to be done.
After a visit to the courts a couple of days ago, I learned that I need to get a copy of the police report I filed at the time of the accident and attach a few more documents before the judge issues an order handing me back the vehicle. That meant another trip to the police station where I filed the report and which happens to be in an even remoter rural area of Islamabad than where I live.
There, I had to tell the exact details of the accident to at least half a dozen people before they bothered to check their records and fish out the report. Even after that, it took them quite some time to get moving and make a copy of it.
This morning, I went straight to the courts and walked around for quite some time while gathering pieces of information about what I needed next and where I had to go. It was almost as simple as trying to build a jigsaw puzzle with your eyes closed.
Finally, I got to the crowded courtroom where my application had to get stamped. The courtroom was nothing like you see on TV, or even in Pakistani/Indian movies. It was just a small room with the “judge” and his clerk sitting on an elevated platform, signing away piles of files and hoardes of lawyers and other people standing around. I managed to hand my application in straight away, but had to wait almost two hours, listening to the proceedings, before getting it back.
Now that I have the stamp and signature on my application, I can go back to the police station and ask them for more papers. Once I get those, I’ll get another wonderful chance to go back to the courts to get the final release order which I’ll have to bring to where the car is, before being allowed to tow it away. Simple as that.
I need a break.