Sectarian Terrorism:
Engineering Enemies from Within
The numerous sects and factions that we see
today are neither new to Pakistan, nor Islam. Most of them have in fact existed
amicably for centuries, without any major incident or friction. What we see
today in the form of sectarian violence is therefore atypical and stands in
contradiction to centuries of peaceful co-existence. With sectarianism now the
most statistically significant form of terrorism in Pakistan, it is necessary
to investigate the reasons for its increasing pervasiveness and its surprise
departure from a largely peaceful past.
Given that the movement for Pakistan was led,
not by any sect or faction, but by the Muslims of the sub-continent, it is fairly
evident that an enemy sponsored ploy that seeks to destabilize Pakistan from
within, is at play. Creating rifts between factions and stirring up sectarian
tensions clearly undermine the unity of the nation and the viability of the
state.
“Creating rifts between factions and stirring
up sectarian tensions clearly undermine the unity of the nation and the
viability of the state.”
While enemy designs and covert interventions have
a vested interest in fanning and exacerbating factional tensions, there are however
other incentives for terrorists to prioritize sectarian terrorism. To begin
with, the self-styled sectarian militant groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi survive
and thrive on creating sectarian tensions. All sectarian groups, in fact, have
a direct stake in nurturing and instigating sectarianism. Without such
simmering tensions, the groups will not just lose their guiding principles and ideology
but effectively also their rationale to exist. It is therefore in their utmost
interest to demonize and target not just all other sects but ironically even
members of their own sect who resist and reject them.
The second type of groups that frequently use
the sectarian card are the likes of Tehrik-e-Taliban, who have declared a war
on the state and its people with no specific regard for any religious sect or
faction. Even though such groups have no pronounced sectarian feud as such,
they still use the card to tap into the sectarian market and form alliances and
partnerships with proactive sectarian groups. Thus, while their goals and
objectives may differ, they find a way to manipulate their ideology to benefit
from transient gains.
The third type of groups that exploit
sectarianism for personal gains are the likes of Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Although
all such groups have a global agenda and their long-term objectives typically
transcend state boundaries, they still actively carry out sectarian violence
and terrorism. The primary reason why such transnational groups with global
agendas get involved in local small-scale sectarian feuds is because most of
their real and identified enemies are either out of reach or simply
inaccessible. ISIS and its local affiliate ISKP, for instance, identify US and
the West as their primary targets, but owing to lack of access they regularly
get embroiled in petty sectarian feuds. In other words, unable to reach their
real enemies, terrorists often conveniently create enemies from within. They
thrive on divide and discord as they seek to fill their ranks with deceit and
trickery.
“unable to reach their real enemies, terrorists
often conveniently create enemies from within. They thrive on divide and
discord as they seek to fill their ranks with deceit and trickery.”
Sectarianism, thus, is often merely a ploy
employed to survive, forge alliances and engineer enemies from within. In order
to curtail the sectarian appeal and pull of all such scheming and conniving
entities, it is necessary to expose their vested interests, operational
handicaps, vile intentions and hidden agendas.
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