Pakistan - Sectarian Shootings

The relentless onslaught on the people of Karachi continues with more sectarian killings and murder mysteries. There has been a surge of sectarian attacks in the city and for once a high profile arrest has been carried out as a consequence, a feat that would have been impossible without the Rangers presence. Former Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Senator Faisal Raza Abidi was arrested during an early morning raid at his Karachi residence on Saturday, in connection with the killing of two men who belonged to the Tableeghi Jamaat in Patel Para area of the metropolis a day earlier.

The double murder was followed by another disturbing incident where as many as five members of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), including two prayer leaders, were shot and killed while another was critically wounded in three separate shooting incidents that took place within the span of an hour. Even though members of the ASWJ hinted that a rival sectarian group carried out the attacks, the police choose to remain mum till ‘further investigation’ takes place. The last thing that Karachi needs is to be on a precipice of a sectarian gang war and all law enforcement agencies need to nip this in the bud before the situation spirals out of control.

When an attack on the Shia congregation took place on October 29, that claimed five precious lives, much was said about taking stricter action and sparing no mercy for the perpetrators. Yet all the arrests made so far in connection with aiding, abetting or sponsoring terrorism have not resulted in convictions, instead the accused have been granted bail and are walking free. These arrests have to reach a logical conclusion if the Rangers operation is truly to bear fruit.