...the creepy-looking former dictator of Pakistain. Zia was an Islamic nutball who imposed his nutballery on the rest of the country with the enthusiastic assistance of the nation's religious parties, which are populated by other nutballs. He was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 1976 by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whom he hanged when he seized power. His time in office was a period of repression, with hundreds of thousands of political rivals, minorities, and journalists executed or tortured, including senior general officers convicted in coup-d'état plots, who would normally be above the law. As part of his alliance with the religious parties, his government helped run the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, providing safe havens, American equipiment, Saudi money, and Pak handlers to selected mujaheddin. Zia died along with several of his top generals and admirals and the then United States Ambassador to Pakistain Arnold Lewis Raphel when he was assassinated in a suspicious air crash near Bahawalpur in 1988...'s blighted rule, violence fuelled by sectarian motives has had a devastating impact on Pak society. Much blood has flowed while prejudice has begun to colour the thinking of even many 'moderate' Paks who now view sectarian 'others' with suspicion. While there have been highs and lows in the level of violence, what has consistently been missing is the state's resolve to tackle the problem, especially the proliferation of violent groups and the spread of hate literature. It seems the state is more interested in trying to control the violence rather than eliminating it. Many in the Learned Elders of Islam's ranks have also displayed a similar attitude, condemning sectarianism on one hand but doing little to counter it on the other.
There is still time to address the issue if all stakeholders play their part. In this context, the 'peace convention' of Shia and Sunni religious and political groups held in Islamabad on Sunday is a positive development. It shows that the majority want peaceful coexistence and that only a handful of troublemakers are bent on stoking unrest. Yet holding joint rallies -- though a step forward -- alone will not solve the problem, which has reached critical proportions. Take the figure of people killed in sectarian terrorist attacks in 2013 released on Sunday by a think tank. According to the Pakistain Institute of Peace Studies, 658 people were killed in such attacks last year countrywide, while 1,195 were maimed.