Devil of Sectarian Violence

The deadly process continues. Three Shia lawyers were gunned down in Karachi on January 26. On the same day, three other professionals — including an FIA official, an accountant and a poet — all from the Shia community, were killed in Quetta.

Extremist groups are believed to be responsible and may well be deliberately targeting professionals as means to spread terror amongst the community. The tactic has worked, with hundreds of professionals — notably doctors — who have fled the country after being targeted in this manner. This is a loss that is hard to sustain in a nation where professionals are badly needed.

It’s just a reminder that sectarian violence poses one of the greatest threats to Pakistani society. Well over 4,000 people have been killed in the past two decades in sectarian-involving violence. Such violence can no longer be denounced as the work of external agents, a mishap of history or politics. Instead, it must be recognized as an indication of an increasingly intolerant and divisive society.

We all know who is behind the attacks; the rise of sectarian organisations in the Punjab in the late 1980s and 1990s is well-documented. The question is: why isn’t our government doing enough to go after these organizations, their nurturing grounds and their financial supply line?

We need to tackle the issue head on. The fact that we have waited so long thinking that by not facing the mere fact of religious extremism is only making the whole situation worse.

Steps needed to be taken

On a short-term basis, our intelligence networks need to determine how these groups operate, where they are based and devise a strategy to round them up.

Ban all those religious and political parties which have elements who had or still have links or views in line with religious extremism.

Operations like Operation Sunrise against seminaries which preach hatred and religious extremism.

Making quality education accessible to all.

Conclusion

The horrors Karachi saw on  bombing of ashura procession, and chain of events that had another blood bath story which we saw two days back in Karachi again shows that the country is now stuck in jaws of religious extremism.

If our politicians, public figures and media personalities do not make a concerted effort to advocate and practice tolerance in our society, Pakistan will continue to head down an unstable path.