As shameful as it is that it took the government so long, and so many needless deaths, before it accepted that the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is on a quest to eliminate Shias from Balochistan, there is a glimmer of hope that it may finally have recognised reality. The brazen attack on a bus of Hazara Shias in Mastung and the peaceful, nationwide two-day protests that followed seemed to have woken the government up. Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, whose response to the militant wave of terror has been tepid at best thus far, promised a targeted operation against the LeJ. That was followed by the apprehension of three suspects linked to the Mastung bombing. Only time will tell if the operation is only a PR exercise meant to appease the understandably outraged Shia community or a sincere effort to no longer tolerate the existence of such a hateful terror group. Previous attacks on Shias, especially Hazaras, have been met with state indifference. The paramilitary troops in Balochistan have preferred to go after nationalists with legitimate grievances against the centre rather than hateful terror groups. Expecting that policy to be reversed may be too optimistic but to at least treat the LeJ as a genuine threat to peace is the least we can expect from the government.
Should there be a change in tack, credit for that exclusively belongs to the Shia community, with its show of peaceful restraint. The bodies of those killed in Mastung were finally buried on Friday, but for two days before that the 27 dead showed us the outcome of decades of official patronage of militant groups that tolerate no sect other than their own. Even now – as these lines are written -- in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi and in other cities protests over the massacre of Shias are continuing. The joining in by some mainly Sunni groups is a good omen. Perhaps some sanity can prevail. But it would be difficult to make it seep through the thickly woven mesh of hatred that has been created. The issue is that of will and how committed the government is to tackling the problem of extremism and dealing with the huge toll it has already taken on our country. The state needs to acknowledge that it let down a community before and vow not to repeat that ever again. The rest of us should realise that the crusade against Shias is part of the same war that the entire country is enduring. The different militant outfits are ideological brothers who will not hesitate to join forces in a drive of hatred. Action against one is pointless if the others are left to thrive.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Pakistan's Shia Genocide: After the funerals
As shameful as it is that it took the government so long, and so many needless deaths, before it accepted that the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is on a quest to eliminate Shias from Balochistan, there is a glimmer of hope that it may finally have recognised reality. The brazen attack on a bus of Hazara Shias in Mastung and the peaceful, nationwide two-day protests that followed seemed to have woken the government up. Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, whose response to the militant wave of terror has been tepid at best thus far, promised a targeted operation against the LeJ. That was followed by the apprehension of three suspects linked to the Mastung bombing. Only time will tell if the operation is only a PR exercise meant to appease the understandably outraged Shia community or a sincere effort to no longer tolerate the existence of such a hateful terror group. Previous attacks on Shias, especially Hazaras, have been met with state indifference. The paramilitary troops in Balochistan have preferred to go after nationalists with legitimate grievances against the centre rather than hateful terror groups. Expecting that policy to be reversed may be too optimistic but to at least treat the LeJ as a genuine threat to peace is the least we can expect from the government.
Should there be a change in tack, credit for that exclusively belongs to the Shia community, with its show of peaceful restraint. The bodies of those killed in Mastung were finally buried on Friday, but for two days before that the 27 dead showed us the outcome of decades of official patronage of militant groups that tolerate no sect other than their own. Even now – as these lines are written -- in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi and in other cities protests over the massacre of Shias are continuing. The joining in by some mainly Sunni groups is a good omen. Perhaps some sanity can prevail. But it would be difficult to make it seep through the thickly woven mesh of hatred that has been created. The issue is that of will and how committed the government is to tackling the problem of extremism and dealing with the huge toll it has already taken on our country. The state needs to acknowledge that it let down a community before and vow not to repeat that ever again. The rest of us should realise that the crusade against Shias is part of the same war that the entire country is enduring. The different militant outfits are ideological brothers who will not hesitate to join forces in a drive of hatred. Action against one is pointless if the others are left to thrive.
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