As the 10th of Muharram, Youm-e-Ashur, draws near the nation is on edge for fear of sectarian terrorism. In fact, this month of prayers and remembrance of the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussein (RA) started with sectarian killings in Quetta. Four women belonging to the city's Shia Hazara community were killed and another injured in an attack on a bus in the middle of a busy road. During the recent years, Hazaras have been repeatedly targeted since they are easily identifiable from their facial features. No other part of the country is safe from the menace of sectarian terrorism. Ever since sectarian terrorism raised its ugly head in the 1980s, countless men, women and children have perished in attacks on imambargahs, mosques, buses, hospitals and funeral processions everywhere from Khyber to Karachi. Just last Wednesday, the police in Karachi made the largest haul of arms and ammunition that, they said, was to be used for acts of terrorism, particularly on the 9th of Muharram.
Sadly, successive governments in this country have failed to counter this clear and present threat to state and society. The usual response is to increase the level of vigilance during the Muharram observances, which have not always worked. This time, again, the law enforcement and intelligence agencies are on high alert. Troops have been dispatched to particularly sensitive areas, like Hangu, to maintain peace. Such precautionary measures are necessary but they do not make the problem go away. Back in 2014, a 20-point political consensus-based National Action Plan (NAP) was announced, which included dealing firmly with sectarian terrorists, choking financing of terrorist organisations, and ensuring that proscribed organisations did not re-emerge under new names. It was also resolved to reactivate the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) to help implement anti-terrorism strategy. Two years on, the NAP remains a mere talking point and NACTA mostly dysfunction due to a suspected civil-military turf tussle. Where things stand is obvious from what the Interior Minister had to tell a recent high-level meeting to do ahead of a chief ministers' conference on October 18. He ordered NACTA to establish a special cell to effectively block terrorist financing, and also to update the list of members of banned outfits, ensuring they do not reinvent their identity to get active. Which makes one wonder where have the ministry been so far.
Without a doubt foreign funding is the chief culprit. It is an open secret that certain Gulf countries have been financing sectarian organisations making this country a battlefield of their proxy war for regional influence. Since the dark years of Zia rule, money has been flowing freely, and abundantly, into the accounts of various clerics for personal use and establishing sectarian seminaries, which serve as nurseries for producing hate-filled terrorists. Liberal funding has made violent sectarianism a lucrative business. Unless and until, this root cause of trouble is removed, better policing and other counter-terrorism measures will not help. One can only hope the government is finally ready to take a determined action against these people rather than resorting to transient measures during Muharram time.
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