Impact of sectarian insecurities and terror-driven violence in South Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

A qualitative study was conducted on sectarian-prone cities in South Punjab, i.e., Sargodha and Jhang, and yielded certain findings. First, in the region of Central and South Asia, wars in the name of religion wedged open the door of sectarian disharmony, which refuses to die. Second, from the 1980s to the 2000s, sectarian disharmony instilled divisions in the domains of political capital and economic resources in South Punjab. Third, the addition of explosive self-controlled jackets, improvised remote-controlled or time-controlled volatile devices and a surfeit of ever-willing suicide bombers, besides target killers, pushed sectarian discord to new limits of terror-driven violence. Fourth, a deep division in the interpretation of religion, such as religious and spiritual scholars, solidified the grounds taken by religious extremists for perpetual dissonance. Fifth, all state efforts to foster sectarian harmony and security still fall short of restoring society to the era of peaceful coexistence. The conclusion drawn is that wars fought near Pakistan’s borders affected society adversely, one example of which is sectarian conflict, causing a perpetual disharmony. No doubt, the state of Pakistan has brought the situation under control, but sectarian divisions in society have gone deeper than before and may take some years to heal.