Sectarian strife between Pakistan's Shia and Sunna hit a new high this month, reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad May 2004 might have been one of the bloodiest months in living memory in Pakistan as far as sectarian violence is concerned. A bomb attack on a Shia mosque in Karachi on 30 May killed 20, taking the total sectarian death toll for the month to over 40. But October 2004 has already surpassed that figure: the suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Sialkot on the first, that killed 30 worshippers, has just been followed by another even more horrific attack in the southern Punjabi city of Multan. The Multan attack, on 8 October, targeted the majority Sunni community. Or rather, the bomb blast targeted a hard-line Sunni faction that regards Shia as kaffirs, or heathen, and has in the past been responsible for numerous sectarian killings. Followers of Maulana Azam Tariq, leader of religious group Sipah-e-Sihaba and one of the Sunni clerics at the forefront of spreading sectarian hatred in Pakistan, were gathered in Multan to mark the first anniversary of his death. Azam Tariq was gunned down last year at a toll booth just outside the capital Islamabad. His career as a hard-line Sunni cleric included fiery speeches denouncing the Shia as kaffirs and exhorting Sunnis to "wage jihad" on them, stints in jail on sectarian violence charges, the banning of his organisation by the government, and -- the position he held when he was killed -- election to the National Assembly. Azam Tariq was a highly controversial figure whose death was greeted with rejoicing by some and mourning by others. Over 2,000 Sunnis who had mourened Taiq's death attended a rally in Multan to mark the first anniversary of his death. It was as they were dispersing that a car bomb went off. Police estimate the bomb was a few kilos in size, but the flying metal from the car in a packed area was what caused the most casualties. Many died on the spot, others on their way to or in hospital. The total death toll to date is 40. The carnage in Multan led, not surprisingly, to angry protests and demonstrations. Marchers burnt tyres and smashed some windows as they vented their rage. Leaders of Millat-i-Islami (as Sipah-e-Sahaba was renamed after it was banned last year) pledged restraint -- but only for a limited period. Ahmed Ludhianvi, the organisation's head, issued a stark warning as he addressed followers on Friday: "We are peaceful, but there will be no guarantee for peace after one week if those who have killed our people are not arrested." The timing of the Multan attack, coming a week after the Sialkot bombing in which rival Shia were killed, suggests it could be a revenge attack. But Shia are a minority in Pakistan, and have more frequently been victims rather than perpetrators of attacks. Shia leaders were quick to deny responsibility for the bombing that killed so many Sunnis in Multan. Ahmed Jalil Naqvi, head of the banned Shia militant group Islami Tehreek Pakistan, said the attack was designed to incite hatred between the two communities. The government has also ruled out revenge by Shia as the motive. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao made the incredible claim that the Multan bombing had "no relevance to the sectarian divide", and added that he did "not see the involvement of any religious group". Such statements -- denying reality -- do not bode well for the hunt to find those responsible. The government's track record in catching sectarian killers anyway is not brilliant. Of the hundreds of sectarian killings carried out in Pakistan over the past decade, only a handful of perpetrators have been caught. Even fewer have been punished. The fear is that the Multan attack, which killed hard-line Sunnis who already feel very hostile to the Shia community, will lead to even greater violence and more killing. On Saturday that fear appeared to have come true, though the victims were Sunni rather than Shia. Two clerics, Mufti Jameel Ahmed Khan and his associate Maulana Nazeer, were shot dead in their van in Karachi. Mufti Jameel was a respected religious figure, not associated with sectarian hatred. News of his death caused shock across Karachi and the country. Critics are citing the attack as proof of the government's inability to contain the militant menace in Pakistan. Measures were imposed by the authorities after the Sialkot and Multan bombings, banning religious processions and tightening security at mosques, imambargahs (holy shrines) and other likely targets. Saturday's killings show how easily the killers can still strike. The current round of sectarian murders comes at a time when the country is grappling with the menace of Al-Qaeda-inspired religious extremism. At the end of September the government claimed the key scalp of Amjad Farooqi, an Al-Qaeda activist high on Pakistan's wanted list. Farooqi's terror attacks were primarily directed against the government because of its pro-US policies, but he had also targeted Shia leaders. He was buried just a few days before the Sialkot attack. Analysts have speculated that there could be links between sectarian and Al-Qaeda type violence -- something that does not bode well for the struggle to eradicate terrorist killings in Pakistan.
