Genocide on Pakistani soil

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/

As persecution of the Shia community in Pakistan grows, it has begun defending itself in the only way it can. Lately, police claim they targeted a number of Shia sectarian defence militias that operate in Karachi, where Shias have been relentlessly attacked by extremist Sunni organisations. Nearly 1,000 Shias were killed because of their religion during the last two years in terrorist attacks around the country. Reports say that there were 64 attacks on Shias in Karachi alone. Recently, Karachi police arrested the alleged head of what they say was a cell of the Shia Sipah-e-Muhammad militia, Syed Furqan, who remains in their custody. The Sipah-e-Muhammad is a militant group that grew as a self-defence organisation after attacks on the Shia community began in earnest in the 1990s by groups like the Sipah-e-Sahaba (SS). All these groups are designated terrorist or banned organisations by the government. However, organisations like the SS continue to operate under new names with impunity. The new face of the SS, the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (AWSJ) operates openly and its head, Ahmad Ludhianvi, was recently declared elected to the National Assembly, though the nomination was struck down by the Supreme Court. The head of its sister group the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ), Malik Ishaq, was recently acquitted on terrorism charges by a Punjab court. Both groups are implicated in the most gruesome incidents of violence against Shias over the last decade.

Sectarian conflict has been a part of Pakistan’s political landscape for 30 years, and its roots lie in the agenda of proxy militant groups supported by the state who wish to impose an ideology that keeps them in power. The narrow thinking of state institutions that have fostered these groups is a recipe for disaster. Recent events point to the possibility of a broader sectarian war developing, in which foreign interests will necessarily play a role. Attacks on Shias in Quetta, in other parts of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi have intensified as the government looks to segregate terrorist groups it can work with from recalcitrant groups that oppose the state. Pakistan’s recent experiences show that the attempt is likely to be futile. The agenda of groups like the SS does not include a pluralistic state, as evidenced by the hate literature and the statements of their own leaders that they widely disseminate under the government’s nose. Their understanding of Islam is non-existent and their belief system is focused on murder. If the state is willing to turn a blind eye to the sectarian cleansing of a religious group, then it can hardly expect them to roll over and die. Continuing to ignore or patronise extremist groups could then lead the country into a bloodbath in which no one will be the winner. The incompetent strategic thinking that has led to this policy needs re-evaluation and action needs to be taken against all sectarian groups, particularly the aggressive and openly operational ones that are trying to commit genocide on Pakistani soil.