The targeted murder of four members of a Christian family in Quetta on Easter Monday highlights the constant peril faced by members of Pakistan’s minority communities. Just two years ago, 75 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a park in Lahore where Christians were celebrating Easter. On that occasion, the attack was claimed by the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. This time, the Islamic State has taken responsibility for the attack. Quetta in particular has become increasingly dangerous for minority communities. In this instance it may have been the IS that was responsible but going after minority groups is a common thread that binds all militant outfits. Many minorities have now fled Balochistan, seeking safe refuge either in other parts of the country or abroad. Unfortunately, for all the words of condemnation issued by politicians after such attacks, action on the ground has been less than forthcoming. Communities that are under threat deserve the full protection of the state, especially during religious occasions. Instead, minority groups have to deal with not only the mortal danger of militant groups but also state and societal discrimination.
That this attack was claimed by the IS should be particularly worrying. Military operations against the group were supposed to have decimated its leadership and left it stumbling and weaker. Clearly, that has not happened. Such attacks show the limitations of relying solely on military operations. The IS is a transnational militant group and its members are able to move with relative freedom between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Defeating it requires cooperation with other countries, particularly Afghanistan. Above all, we need to counter the hateful ideology of groups like the IS. The state has the responsibility to not just fight back against the murderous actions of the IS and its ilk but to show that every Pakistani, regardless of what their religion may be, is treated as an equal citizen. When the state demonstrates with its laws and actions that not every group is afforded the same rights, it creates space for the hateful rhetoric of militant groups. Our counterterrorism strategy, enshrined under the National Action Plan, was meant to be comprehensive in dealing with both the sanctuaries of militants and the ideology of their sympathisers. The latter plank of the NAP has been notable only for its absence. When citizens of Pakistan feel insecure in their daily lives just because of their religious identities, we know that we have failed them as a nation.