Sectarian strife

Everyone should be familiar with the sectarian problem in Parachinar, where the Bangash tribe is divided by sectarian feeling, though this division had its origins not in sectarian feeling, but in a more mundane tribal division. However, while the traditional rivalry remains alive, now it has taken a sectarian colouring, under which all internal tribal fighting, and killing, occurs. Unfortunately, it can be spread into the rest of the country, and sectarian votaries can be given the incorrect impression that there is a sectarian problem at work.

Pakistan is one of the rare examples of sectarian harmony in the Muslim world. The tensions in Parachinar can be exploited to bring this harmony to an end, and get Pakistan divided on sectarian lines, which it cannot afford. Federal Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, while addressing an Independence Day function in Peshawar, said that the government was facing an uprising in Matni and Swat. The government, whether at the centre, where Mr Bilour’s ANP forms a part of government, or the province, where it rules, should take measures to ensure that no sectarian problem can be spread.