ISLAMABAD: A noose seems to be tightening around Pakistan’s neck with each passing day. People are now desensitised to the stories of bloodshed. Through a well-thought out campaign, the Shias of Pakistan are flagrantly massacred in cold blood. One year back, on the way to Gilgit-Baltistan, a bus was stopped, Shias on board were identified, disembarked and were shot dead. The same incident repeated itself after a gap of few months on the same route. Parachinar and Hangu also frequently turn into battlefields where the champions of ‘real’ Islam butcher innocent Shias by branding them ‘infidels’, but these blood-curdling incidents hardly get the kind of reporting they deserve in the media. The recent extensive reporting of the plight of the Hazara Shias by the media is the result of mass protests held across the country in solidarity with the victims. The Shias have been pushed into a blind alley with no option but to stage massive demonstrations in a bid to seek justice.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has an expansionist ideology that aims to dislodge the hard-earned democracy in Pakistan and to install a system that is in harmony with their distorted version of religion. To achieve this, they have knitted ties with some sectarian outfits in Pakistan, which have a great say across the social spectrum. Under the tutelage of the TTP, the militants of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) are ripping through the lives of Shias in a bid to soften up Pakistan’s institutions. The attacks on Shias are a part of the greater policy pursued by the TTP to make the state of Pakistan pander to their demands.
Even though the SSP and the LeJ are outlawed outfits, they operate all over Pakistan without fear of being caught by the law enforcement agencies. Their brazen activities and the intentional indifference of our agencies towards their movements indicate the complicity of our state.
Therefore, it is advisable to stop investing hopes in our law enforcement agencies to find the culprits behind the Quetta attack. Religious parties, which have some political dispensation and have a non-sectarian tone can gear up their efforts for unity. The Mili Yakjehti Council brought about a radical shift in the attitude of religious parties and helped bridge the gulf that existed among them. The softening of relations among the religious parties can help spoil the heinous plans of the militants.
Rehan Khan Gilgiti
Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2013.
