Another bloodied day

On the day when Nawaz Sharif was in Karachi to discuss the implementation of the National Action Plan with provincial leaders we were served a brutal reminder of how the fight against militancy will take more than just plans. A suicide blast created mayhem during Friday prayers at an imambargah in Shikarpur. At least 50 people lay dead, awaiting burial as dozens of families once again began the terrible rituals of mourning that have become so familiar to us. We can only wonder when we will reach a time when we are spared death that is inflicted on the basis of sect and comes through bombs or other equally violent means. There has been no success in combating the fearful militancy that has torn our country apart and left its society in shreds. The bombing at the Karbala Maula Imambargah in the Lakhi Dar area added to the hundreds of incidents of sectarian killing we have seen over the years. What is the holiest day of the week for all Muslims turned into one of tragedy for a large number. Another 50 people rank among the injured, and the words of condemnation that have come in from the president, the prime minister, former president Asif Ali Zardari and members of the Sindh government will do nothing to heal their wounds or calm the pain of the relatives of the dead. Indeed, it seems there is nothing we can do to console ourselves as a nation.
In what police say was a bombing caused by explosives wrapped in a plastic bag placed inside the mosque, a portion of the building collapsed, claiming more victims as they were buried under the rubble. Responsibility for the latest act of senseless violence has been claimed by the extremist group Jundullah, whose spokesman has said Shias were their ‘enemies’. The group has already declared its allegiance to the Islamic State organisation and seems to follow the same philosophy of murder. It is becoming obvious that the influence of this group is expanding within our country even as we sit back helplessly and watch. The fact is we cannot afford to do nothing. The measures taken by the government so far since the December killings at a Peshawar school are largely cosmetic in nature. It is obvious the hanging of prisoners has not deterred the militants. Random statements about clamping down on hatred, and arrests of some clerics every now and then do not alter the reality in which we live. This reality is a hellish one. It constitutes a situation in which a whole army of extremist outfits are out to kill those they perceive as being legitimate targets. We need to see how we can end this hatred by arresting key leaders and ensuring that banned outfits are no longer free to wreak havoc within our towns and cities. So far, there has been failure on this front. We simply cannot afford to keep failing again and again.