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efforts to promote sectarian harmony and tolerance to prevent further bloodshed
and also to find the will to decisively act against sectarian militant groups and
show the commitment to effectively prosecute those apprehended for sectarian
violence.
April 5: HRCP expressed serious alarm at the loss of life in sectarian
strife in Gilgit Baltistan and demanded that the government, political parties
and civil society organisations join hands to bring peace to the area at the
earliest. The Commission said that the relative calm in Gilgit following the
imposition of curfew and deployment of troops was a tenuous one, retaliatory
attacks and incidents of hostage taking had been reported amid concerns that
the authorities had responded only to some of the more violent incidents and
were proceeding in a reactive manner. People were facing great difficulties as
provisions and food stocks, even milk for children, ran low. In hospitals
medicines were scarce. The lives of those who had provided shelter to others
irrespective of sect or faith and only out of concern for human life found their
own lives were at risk as a consequence. HRCP added: “It would be naïve to
think that the scars of the events of the last few days in Gilgit Baltistan would
go away by imposing curfew and shutting down cellular phone services or by
preaching calm. The monumental task of healing the wounds and promoting
sectarian harmony must begin at the earliest in consultation with the affected
communities and should be persisted with. The political parties must desist
from indulging in point scoring and in addition to publicly expressing their
unambiguous condemnation for violence they should also share with the people
their vision for controlling the situation and preventing recurrence of such
senseless violence in the future…Those who have fanned the strife in Gilgit
Baltistan must be identified and held to account as must those who pulled the
trigger in target killings. In fact, there is every reason to pay equally urgent
attention to contain the continuing bloodletting based on sectarian identity in
Quetta, Karachi and elsewhere in the country and send a clear message to the
hate mongers that they will not be allowed to take the people and law and
order hostage.”
April 11: HRCP stated that the continuing spilling of blood in sectarian
killings in Quetta and Gilgit Baltistan manifested a blatant failure to address
religious intolerance in society, which constituted one of the biggest threats to
the country. The Commission said the sectarian bloodshed in Pakistan,
particularly in Quetta and Gilgit Baltistan demonstrated a disturbing pattern
and appeared to be part of a well-planned sequence. It had been stated that
miscreants from Afghanistan were involved. That might be one problem but it
certainly was not the only one. HRCP stated: “The mindless bloodshed that we
witness day in and day out is rooted in religious intolerance cultivated by the
state. Politics in the name of religion has substantially worsened what was
already an appalling situation. It is alarming that no one responsible for these
killings has been nabbed in years. The people are paying the price of indifference
with their lives. Rather than wasting time on addressing mere symptoms, the
HRCP stands