How the government should have reacted
Sectarian clashes in the country seem to have become a norm rather than an exception. Intolerance reigns supreme. Neither sect seems to back down. This is exactly the kind of Pakistan that it was not meant to be. Within a fortnight two well respected leaders, one each from Sunni and Shia sects, have been murdered in Lahore, apparently in sectarian target killings. The aggrieved parties, incensed at the killings, took to the streets and blocked main roads in protest in major cities. This type of reaction is typical to follow after such events.
In the latest bout, a Shia leader, Tehreek-i-Nifaz-i-Fiqa-e-Jafria’s Allama Nasir Abbas was killed in Lahore on Sunday night. The killing appears to be in response to the killing of an ASWJ’s leader almost 10 days ago. A large number of Shias gathered on the Mall Road and held a sit-in for 18 hours to register their protests. Calling it a failure on the part of the Punjab government, the protesting Shias expressed anger and demanded that the government brought the killers to justice and provided them security. Shameful as it is, the government has actually been less than a useless tool in keeping sectarian clashes at bay. The problem is not just that of law and order; it runs much deeper. It is a problem of hatred, misunderstanding and fear that has seeped well in the roots of Pakistani society, divided along so many ethnic and sectarian lines. Our schooling systems and madrassas are not helping matters either. They have become hate factories where the members of any other sect than their own are declared heathen and wajib-ul-qatl. Unless there is tolerance and understanding that the followers of any sect, and for that matter any religion or even non-religious people like atheists and agnostics, have the same rights accorded to them as those who have taken it upon them to preach one particular brand of religion, there is no chance of having a lasting peace, or a tolerant peace.
Each protest, each blockade of a road, and each strike costs billions in the form of lost economic opportunities. However, an even greater issue is that of a lack of any reasonable response from the government. It has taken a back seat and allowed chaos rule the day. Unless the government intervenes, preferably with the help of secret agencies, the situation is not going to improve and such killings will continue.
