We have often editorialised on this issue and pointed out to the authorities that there is no real distinction between sectarian terrorists and the so-called jihadis. Since the militant groups fighting inside Afghanistan and Kashmir were Wahhabi-Deobandi, a free hand to them by the state meant they would also pursue a sectarian agenda. There is enough evidence to suggest that cadres of the so-called jihadi organisations also doubled, in many cases, as sectarian terrorists. For instance, it is futile to distinguish among groups like Harkat-ul Mujahideen, Jaish-e Mohammad, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e Jhangvi as jihadi or sectarian. Putting jihadi and sectarian tags on one or the other is a futile, in fact downright dangerous, exercise.
The Hazara Shia in Quetta had to endure two dastardly attacks which killed more than sixty and left over 100 injured. The Shia clerics categorically accused Jaish and LJ activists. At least one of them went to the extent of also obliquely blaming the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam, the two factions of which are components of the Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal. The general tendency so far has been to accuse the Indian RAW of perpetrating these attacks even as, in all cases where the police have managed to apprehend the terrorists, it is clear who they are and what groups they belong to.
Such is the level of hatred now that following the killing of Shia Hazara, two Sunni boys were allegedly torn to pieces by a Shia mob, though the story never made it to the newspapers. While Daily Times could not get it corroborated by any official source, the incident is widely known in Balochistan. Regardless of its veracity, it hardly needs be emphasised that no decent society can allow this kind of violence to go unchallenged.
| But we're talking about Pakistan, land of Bugtis and hudood... |
General Pervez Musharraf has, on many occasions, talked about curbing extremism. But so far the government has failed to put down this scourge. We are also concerned about why leaders of banned extremist groups like Jaish continue to be treated as VIPs. There can be no half-measures on this score. The sectarian serpent's head has to be cut off. This can only be done by striking where it matters the most, at the level of top leadership. But while sectarianism must be treated as a priority law-and-order problem in the short-term, in the longer run the government needs to take a more integrated approach to the problem. That is where we need to address the question of what is it that produces sectarian hatred? A debate on this question would involve looking at societal tendencies that have developed over the past two decades. Have we become more intolerant and bigoted? Are we now wearing religion on the sleeve? Do we consider apostate anyone who does not share our worldview or denominational particularities?
General Musharraf's talk about modernising Pakistan will remain just that, mere talk, unless he were to take concrete measures to address these deep-seated prejudices and distortions. It's time for him to walk the talk. |