Moharram is round the corner. Every year, first ten days of this month, take a heavy toll on the forces responsible for maintaining law and order. Time was when a couple of districts in the country like D.I.Khan, Bhakkar, Parachinar, Hangu and Jhang were considered to be highly sensitive sectarian districts where extraordinary security measures were taken and a large contingent of police and para military forces deployed as a measure of abundant caution. Today the entire country has become sensitive, so to say. The evil of sectarianism has spread like a brush fire throughout the nook and cranny of the country.
Successive political governments in this country are responsible for the spread of this menace. They have been rather soft on the religious fanatics on both sides of the sectarian divide. It is in the evidence that they have been meting out a kid-glove treatment even to the lunatic fringe within some religious parties against whom strong evidence of indulgence in sectarian violence existed. Many of them were pardoned and released in the past because either the rulers were shit-scared of them or they cared too much for their vote bank and were afraid of losing it in case they came down on them with a heavy hand.
It goes without saying that sectarianism is the worst form of terrorism .It eats into the vital of the country .A concerted effort is, therefore, needed round the year on the part of law and order enforcing agencies to nip this evil in the bud. An eagle eye has to be kept on publication of hate material. Speeches delivered from the pulpit are required to be scanned and persons found involved in fanning sectarian hatred need to be dealt with iron hand .A stich in time, it is said saves nine, therefore, timely pre-emptive action against the preachers of sectarian hatred can save many innocent lives which are lost in clashes between different Muslim sects.
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