Address root causes of intolerance, says HRCP

The HRCP said the attacks had highlighted the fact that the militants were “operating under the umbrella of belief”.

LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Thursday attributed Wednesday’s attacks on processions on Hazrat Ali’s martyrdom day to continued failure of the state to confront the causes and perpetrators of extremism and violence in the name of faith.

In a statement issued here, the HRCP said, the attacks on a procession in Lahore, and a similar procession in Karachi hours earlier, had highlighted the fact that the militants “operating under the umbrella of belief” would inevitably step up violence against the sects they disagreed with.

The HRCP regretted that such attacks were always followed by a focus exclusively on the security aspect and not at all on the extremist organisations behind these attacks and the root causes of intolerance.

The government, it pointed out, may have banned many extremist militant groups in theory, by adding their names to an official list, but it is clear that these groups face little difficulty in continuing their activities.

“Many of the extremist organisations that justify violence and bloodshed in the name of belief are home grown and are an outcome of local politics. Little has been done to shut down their operations or to confront the movements that had led to the emergence of these organisations or to rethink the assumptions that enable rank criminals to get away with blue murder in the name of belief,” it said.

“It must be abundantly clear to all concerned by now that cosmetic half-measures will not do. The root causes of militancy and sectarian violence need to be addressed urgently. The rot will not stop until the government and other institutions somehow discover the courage to stop crimes perpetrated in the name of belief.

Until the time that happens, the usual vows of bringing the perpetrators to justice will only cause frustration and rage among the victims and their families and augment the aura of impunity for the killers of innocent people and destroyers of peace,” it concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2010.