Pakistan faces sectarian threat

Pakistan continues to trudge on a road that takes it closer and closer to self-destruction while its people hang their heads in shame or sorrow — at least those who are not in denial. The blast that rocked a predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Karachi last Sunday has shaken the foundations of a city that is home to people of all possible ethnic, sectarian and religious backgrounds.

The country had yet to come to terms with the blatant genocide committed against members of the Hazara community in Quetta, where 200 people lost their lives in targeted blasts in the last two months. Those who lost their loved ones there were still demanding justice and waiting for the government to come up with a plan that would help protect their community from persecution. But before the government could awaken from a stupor that has, time and again, resulted in bloodshed and unnecessary loss of lives, the perpetrators struck again.

While we can only imagine the pain of those who lost their loved ones, livelihoods and homes — all in a split second — one can hardly find words to condemn the cowardly behaviour of the perpetrators, who knew what it meant to target a residential complex. Many of the victims were children.

It is probably the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a banned organisation in Pakistan, which will eventually claim responsibility for these attacks as it did in Quetta. It has always been quite defiant about its anti-Shiite campaign. After the Hazara genocide, it threatened to “exterminate” the Shiite community in the country. Given this warning, it was up to the state agencies to prevent exactly the sort of incident that took place in Abbas Town. And this cannot be done by keeping mum about this irrational persecution of a community by an outfit that is supposedly banned.

Now, try as they might, the same state agencies that looked the other way after the Hazara genocide (even refusing to call it that) cannot wish away the destruction of the apartment block in Abbas Town. And they can certainly offer no explanation for why the world is seeing reels of pictures of tearful, distraught mourners burying their dead, or of the building block that has been torn apart by the blast.

They cannot deny that the victims of this most recent blast lost their lives simply because the government came up with little more than setting up investigative committees (read offering lip service) when the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi acted with impunity the last time around. It is really scary when you know that the state cannot protect its people. There are cowards all over, who can strike anywhere — and at any time — and there is no to stop them. Not only are you unsafe on the streets, but you are also at risk in your house, or at the mosque.

However, this is not a civil war, no matter what the world thinks. The sectarian strife is driven not by the common man, but by groups and organisations that believe they are the custodians of Islam. The state needs to take strong, effective action against those who perpetrate violence and promote terrorism in the country. Dialogue certainly doesn’t sound like a good idea, for that requires rational thinking — something the perpetrators of such crimes are devoid of. Stringent security measures must convince Pakistan’s people that they are all safe. They should be able to rely on the state for help and protection.

If the state refuses to mobilise forces in Karachi, as in Quetta, chances are that the Shiite community will be forced to take up arms. After all, they have to protect their families and themselves if the state refuses to. In Quetta, this is already happening, with young students serving as part-time security men. The Hazara community cannot trust the government to prevent another genocide. But once the Shiite community decides to come out in full force, and sets out to punish the perpetrators on their own, the state agencies will no longer be in a position to control the situation.

Like the rest of us, they will have to sit on the benches and watch as the country slips into oblivion. And they will have no one to blame but themselves.

Rabia Alavi is a Dubai-based writer. You can follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RabiaAlavi