Trickle-down effect: Military operations quell sectarian killings

Police official says dismantling of safe havens has sent militants running .

PESHAWAR: Sixteen people may have lost their lives in targeted sectarian attacks in the first 10 months of 2014, but this is a marked decrease from previous years.

According to data from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police, 12 members of the Shia community and four Sunnis have fallen victim to bloodthirsty killers. However, the numbers are far lower than 2012 when 57 people were killed in targeted sectarian attacks, including 12 members of the Sunni sect and 45 Shias.

In the corresponding period in 2013, 43 Shias and nine Sunnis were among the 52 people killed.



Talking to The Express Tribune, a police official said a major reason for the decrease in targeted sectarian killings was the dismantling of extremists’ safe havens by military operations in Fata.

“Attacks on Shias were considerably higher and that is probably because some elements among the militants provided sanctuary to such terrorists in the past,” he said. The officer said successful military operations in Waziristan and Khyber Agency forced sectarian killers among other militants to flee for their lives.

“Fata has served as a breeding ground for all types of criminals and militants as it remained ungoverned for many decades after the creation of Pakistan,” he said.

“There is widespread corruption among authorities and these are the causes identified by the Post Crisis Need Assessment (PCNA).”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2014.