Another attempt to curb sectarianism
Ali Waqar
The Friday Times,September 1-7, 2006 - Vol. XVIII, No. 28
Officials say the provincial government’s campaign is mere talk and will not be able to deliver the way Shahbaz Sharif’s anti-sectarianism campaign did
To curb sectarianism, and in following the model of former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif during whose tenure sectarian violence was on the decline, the provincial government has decided to get rid of several high profile cases of sectarianism that have remained undecided despite being in the courts for years.
Currently133 accused are in various jails of Punjab on charges of sectarian violence and killings. Thirty-eight have been under-trial for many years while 51 have been awarded the death sentence and are either awaiting the gallows or have appeals pending before the higher courts and mercy petitions with the president of the country. Most of these condemned men belong to the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (Sunni) or Sipah-e-Muhammad (Shia) groups.
Sharif, while he was CM (1997 to 1999) triggered a rigorous anti-sectarianism campaign, the main component of which was getting swift decisions on all pending sectarian cases. For this he got the help of close cabinet member, Muhammad Basharat Raja, who currently handles the Law portfolio in Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s cabinet. Elahi has also decided now to follow in Sharif’s footsteps and get rid of such cases expeditiously.
Officials, however, say this is just talk and that this government will not be able to deliver the way Sharif’s did. “Nothing will happen until someone in the government puts their foot down and makes sure pending cases are decided; more importantly, that condemned sectarian terrorists are executed. This, and only this, will send across a clear message that the government now has zero tolerance for sectarianism,” the official told TFT.
He says that in the 90s, there was definitely a decline in sectarian violence due to executive steps taken by Shahbaz Sharif. “The government must purse the early executions of sectarian killers instead of trying to pacify different extremist, banned organisations, which is what intelligence agencies suggest. The courts and judges also need to become a responsible and efficient part of this process and not let these cases hang,” the official added.
Experts suggest that as a long-term approach, the government needs to work on separating religion and politics and making sure that religion is made a completely private matter. “Issues of foreign involvement and funding during the Iranian Revolution and the Afghan war also need to be considered. Also, we cannot ignore the Arab and Europeans connections in the rise of sectarianism in Pakistan,” says one scholar.
Following are some of the FIRs (First Information Report) registered for cases of sectarian violence the government says it will now pursue vigilantly: FIR number 407/4 Akbari Gate, Lahore, registered (two Shias were killed); FIR number 98/05, Gulshan-e Iqbal area (Dr Ghulam Murtaza Malik was killed); sectarian violence in which eight Shias were killed in a mosque in 2001 in Sheikhupura; FIR number 21/98, Qila Dedar Singh (Qamar Abbas Zaidi was killed); FIR number 157/98 (Police Inspector Raja Saqlain and his driver were shot dead at RA Bazaar Rawalpindi); FIR number 28/98 (Shaheen Haider was shot dead on Sargodha Road, Faisalabad); FIR number 215/01 (two Shia leadesr were killed); the massacre at the Islahul Muslimeen Madrassa Vehari in 1995; FIR number 98/97 (a prominent Shia leader was killed); FIR number 50/2001 (Nayyar Abbas was killed in Jhang); and FIRs registered for killings of several Shias in Khairpur Tamewali in 2001.
The cases also include sectarian violence at the Lohari Gate, Multan, in which 41 people lost their lives when a van exploded during Maulana Azam Tariq’s death anniversary function. Interestingly, some of the accused are still absconding while many have been jailed and a few sentenced.
According to official figures, until July/August 2006, there were 133 prisoners detained in different jails in Punjab. The break down is as follows: Multan (30 prisoners from Sipah-e-Sahaba); Bahawalpur (17); Lahore (4) and one each in Rawalpindi, Dera Ghazi Khan and Sargodha. From the Sipah-e-Muhammad side, there are eight sectarian inmates, four in District Jail Lahore, two in Multan and one each in Faisalabad and Jhang. Among the convicted prisoners, 31 inmates of the Sipah-e-Sahaba have been detained at different provincial jails, while 13 Sipah-e-Muhammad culprits have been put away in Faisalabad, Lahore, Multan, Bahawalpur and DG Khan.
Also, there are 45 terrorists of the Sipah-e-Sahaba who have been sentenced to death: five are at Central Jail Lahore, three in Sahiwal, eight in Rawalpindi, 16 in Multan, four each in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur, two each in district jail Faisalabad and DG Khan, and one in central jail Faisalabad. Only six persons from the Sipah-e-Muhammad have been condemned: two are in District Jail Lahore, one in Central Jail Faisalabad, and three in DG Khan.
According to various official and non-official reports, provisionally, as many as 892 people were killed and 1,649 injured in 295 sectarian incidents in the country from 2000 to 2005. According to these reports, 19 cases of sectarian violence occurred in 2000 in which 46 people were killed and 61 injured; 102 incidents occurred in 2001 in which 84 people were killed and 115 injured; 44 incidents occurred in 2002 in which 84 people were killed and 115 injured; 39 incidents occurred in 2003 in which 126 people were killed and 185 injured; 20 incidents occurred in 2004 in which 218 people were killed and 638 injured; 71 incidents occurred in 2005 in which 207 people were killed and 330 injured. Accused parties include Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Tehirk-e-Nifaz-e- Fiqha Jaafaria and their factions including Sipah-e-Sohaba Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan, Jaish-e-Muhammad Pakistan, and others.
Moreover, by August 2006, over a dozen sectarian incidents had been reported. These incidents include the Nishtar Park bomb blast on Eid Miladul Nabi this April when several people including the entire leadership of the Sunni Tehrik was killed. On July 14, Allama Hasan Turabi and his nephew were assassinated in a suicide bomb blast. Also, at least 39 people were killed in a suspected suicide attack on a Shiite procession in northwest Pakistan and in Hangu on February 9. A Shia cleric also set ablaze a car in Faisalabad
Masud Aziz, Superintendent Police, CIA (Crime Investigation Agency), Lahore, says that according to his records, 425 sectarianism cases have been lodged in the past several years; of these, 311 people were arraigned, while 114 cases are still pending.
Table showing a provisional number
of sectarian incidents
Year Killings
2000 107
2001 633
2002 243
2003 350
2004 876
2005 608
Total 2817
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