Fragmentation and Fractionalization: The Sectarian Ploy of Terrorists
The Pakistan independence movement was spearheaded not by any one sect or faction but by the Muslims of the Subcontinent. Aware of their bleak and desolate fate in an undivided India, the Muslims of the Subcontinent put any and all differences aside and worked together as a collective towards the common goal of achieving an independent country.
The creation of Pakistan in an ethnically and religiously diverse Indian Subcontinent was no small feat. The region was and is home to millions of other minorities like Sikhs, Jains and Christians, each of which had an equally strong claim to nationhood. Yet it were only the Muslims who were able to actively mobilize themselves and achieve the dream of an independent country. The brotherhood, comradeship and fraternity necessary for such a remarkable feat hardly has any parallel in history.
“The Pakistan independence movement was spearheaded not by any one sect or faction but by the Muslims of the Subcontinent.”
Against this backdrop, it is hard to comprehend the sectarian fragmentation and fractionalization that we witness today in our society. For the very Muslims that were united against all odds and challenges in spite of numerous internal sects and factions, to now be so divided and fragmented is clearly paradoxical. It is evident therefore that some adversarial ploy is afloat that seeks to destabilize Pakistan from within by categorically undermining what was at one point the country’s greatest strength.
Any entity that seeks to fuel sectarian violence in Pakistan is clearly keen on undermining the guiding principles of the Pakistan movement and in extension its raison d’être. For indeed if the sects of Islam in Pakistan are projected as fragmented and fractured and at loggerheads with each other, then the entire premise of the independence movement becomes dubious and questionable. Extremist and terrorist elements in the country appear to be doing precisely just that. They instigate sectarian tensions and incite factional divisions with the incontrovertible intention to weaken and divide Pakistan from within. Such entities are therefore neither working in the interest of Islam or Pakistan and must be firmly repelled and resisted accordingly.
“Any entity that seeks to fuel sectarian violence in Pakistan is clearly keen on undermining the guiding principles of the Pakistan movement and in extension its raison d’être.”
A strong sense of brotherhood, comradeship and fraternity guided our ancestors and allowed them to overcome tremendous odds and difficulties in pursuance of the dream of creating an independent Pakistan. We owe it to the sacrifices of our fore- and founding fathers to resist and expose the malicious designs of extremists and terrorists, who through misappropriating religion, seek only to divide and destroy us.