Crackdown on sectarianism

Sectarianism in Pakistan reared its ugly head decades before the scourge of modern-day terrorism came into existence. In many ways, it can be said to be a precursor to the incessant violence that has taken hold of the country. It is understood that certain religious seminaries are in the practice of aligning themselves with banned militant groups which carry out acts of terror both against particular sects or minorities as well as the population at large. However, despite the promises made in the National Action Plan to regulate the seminaries and their teachings, these institutions largely act independently secure in the knowledge that the government will not take action against them. But this has now changed, at least in Sindh where on November 6^th, a crackdown was launched against 93 seminaries accused of supporting and fuelling sectarian militancy. According to government sources, the operation was launched following a large-scale intelligence gathering operation and a high-level security meeting during which a report was presented on the links of these 93 seminaries with banned militant outfits.

The government intends to arrest around 1,400 suspects and 3,000 known criminals in connection with various incidents of sectarian violence in Karachi over the past several weeks in which dozens have been injured and several killed. The operation has led to large-scale protests for the release of arrested seminary officials. It remains to be seen whether the government will hold fast to its resolve of bringing peace to Karachi or if it will cave in to the pressure and not take any further steps to curb the sectarian violence for which it has termed seminaries as being the ‘nurseries’. In the past, such efforts have been met with staunch resistance from religious communities and successive governments have had to give up their efforts for fear of escalating the situation. With strong backing both from a devout public and from religious political parties, seminaries enjoy a privileged position. The Sindh government has undertaken a daunting task whose success or failure could serve as a blueprint for similar endeavours in other parts of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2016.

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