Pakistan:Addressing Sectarian Violence

There are two ways to address a political problem. One, you can solve the problem. Two, you can write a report about the problem. The former is hardly convenient. The latter does not require much more than repetition and stating the obvious. Consider the following points of the grand five-point plan the interior ministry has released to combat the spread of sectarian violence. Though conceding that 950 people have lost their lives to sectarian attacks in the last three years, and more than half of them have taken place in Balochistan, the very first point, a real revelation of a solution, says that a close eye will be kept on clandestine activities by employing such institutions as the police, intelligence and other law enforcement agencies. Only, this is the job description of the police, intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Its what they are supposed to do. In short, the first point states that law enforcement will now do its job. In the second point, the government recognises that sectarian violence is an internal national security threat by putting the acknowledgment into print in the National Internal Security Policy. In other words, the interior ministry released a document that said another document proved how serious the government is about sectarian violence being a priority. The third one nudges the pie a little bit. For 120 days at least, sectarian killing will be an offence covered under the Pakistan Protection Ordinance (PPO). In case point 1 fails, and the police is unable to comply with the rules of a proper investigation or prevention of the crime, they have the authority to throw anybody they want into jail and proclaim the case closed. In this way, point 3 will go a long way to reinforce how well point 1 has worked out. In point 4, the government has declared it will ban organisations that preach hate. (A couple of political parties come immediately to mind). Point 5 is not really a separate point but a 4 point plan hardly sounds comprehensive. Therefore, the final point states the distribution of hate literature too will be taken action against. (A couple of political manifestos come immediately to mind.) The report does not propose a single solution that carefully and analytically engages with the sectarian problem. It does not contain a shred of analysis, for example, regarding the killing of specifically Shia Hazaras in Balochistan. It uses words that mean nothing, talks of policies already in place that do nothing, and is basically a huge load of nothing. Not a single organisation has been banned since this government took the reins, and now it seems this report was all the government could come up with to dignify the lives and deaths of 950 Pakistanis. Well, its not enough. Not even close.