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Parachinar bombing
[DAWN] THOUGH Pakistain has its own complex internal sectarian dynamics, the influence of communal conflicts in the Middle East has always been strong.On Sunday, both these streams of sectarian violence -- the internal and the external -- came together in Parachinar with devastating consequences. At least 25 people were killed when a bomb went kaboom!in a Parachinar market. While  Kurram Agency...home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, where the laws of cause and effect are assumed to be suspended, conveniently located adjacent to Tora Bora... has witnessed a tribal-cum-sectarian conflict for many years with varying degrees of intensity, a new, disturbing factor has emerged from Sunday's outrage. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... Al Alami and Ansarul Mujahideen murderous Moslem groups grabbed credit for the atrocity, apparently to 'punish' Shias for "supporting Syrian  Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... and the Iranian government". The claim was accompanied by a dire warning that unless Shias failed to stop "their children" from allegedly participating in Syria's civil war, more such attacks would follow. The number of sectarian attacks in Pakistain has come down considerably -- apart from two major attacks in Muharram in Balochistan  ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... and Sindh -- thanks largely to the anti-militancy and counterterrorism efforts of the military and civilian law-enforcement apparatus. However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... the Parachinar bombing is the latest confirmation of the fact that the murderous Moslem menace is far from neutralised. Despite the violence of the past, Parachinar has also witnessed relative peace in recent times, while security forces have kept a strict vigil on the town, with those entering it being searched. The fact that despite the security blanket gunnies managed to attack a public place indicates the need for greater intelligence efforts to trace the hideouts of those carrying out terrorist acts as well as their planning and logistics infrastructure in the tribal belt and beyond and destroy them. As for the Syria factor, events in the Middle East have always had an impact on sectarian dynamics in Pakistain. It had long been felt that the Syrian civil war would have a particular influence on this country, especially as it acquired an ugly sectarian colour. With the Parachinar bombing, the Syrian civil war seems to have come home. A recent media report says that "hundreds of Pak" Shia fighters have left for Syria; many of these individuals are reportedly from Parachinar. Shia fighters from Leb, Iraq and Afghanistan are also believed to be involved in the Syrian theatre. On the other hand, the banned TTP has also reportedly been sending fighters to the Arab country, while the Syrian ambassador to Pakistain has said publicly that around 500 Paks are fighting his government. Whether it is Shia or Sunni murderous Moslems, the Pak government needs to look into the issue of local individuals heading for Syria to fight for either side in the civil war, and curtail their movement. Along with complicating the situation in a foreign country, this activity can also lead to communal violence and polarisation in Pakistain. Hence, the state needs to take immediate steps to stem the flow of local fighters to Syria. Posted by: Fred 2015-12-15 |
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