With the arrival of Muharram, a deadly spate of sectarian attacks has engulfed Karachi and Quetta, areas that are setting new records in target killings and bomb attacks. That the attacks have multiplied in Muharram shows the perpetrators’ intent to cause maximum damage to sectarian harmony.
In Karachi, a motorcycle bomb went off outside a jam-packed Imam Bargah. But since the bomber could not sneak inside, the device was detonated outside leaving four dead and many others wounded. How systematic is the campaign of violence can be gauged from the fact that at the same time a Shia leader was gunned down in Quetta. In Dera Bugti, attackers barged inside a house, opened fire, killing four on the spot. Who are these killers? Definitely, they are not among us; a common Pakistani for all the attempts to incite polarisation between the communities is still tolerant of a fellow Muslim’s sect. In Muharram, for instance, people regardless of their community are sensitive to the sanctity of the holy month. Likewise, there is no dearth of people belonging to different sects living side by side as neighbours in harmony. Those who bomb out holy places are neither Muslims nor humans; they are devils. The enemy would have to be first publicly censured by the government so that the people know who they are and then brought to hard-handed justice. Condemnatory statements alone will not do. It is a time to fight back.