2. Sectarian Violence
According to Syed Saleem Shahzad (Asia Times, Hong Kong), the assassination of Maulana Azam Tariq, Sunni extremist and parliamentarian, exposes the two elements of the anti-Shia movement in Pakistan: the political, Millat-i-Islamia Pakistan (MIP), and the militant, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ). In another article, Shahzad examines the circumstances of Tariq's murder and questions if it was truly sectarian in nature. Members of Tariq's party alleged that Sajid Naqvi, head of the Shia Islami Tehrik (IT), a component of the MMA, was involved in the assassination. Daily Times (Pakistan) reports that militant leader Qari Zia-ur-Rehman, founder of Tehrik Jihad-e-Islami, was also killed along with Azam Tariq.
"The hammer poised to strike in Pakistan"
"Resurgent Sectarianism"
"Naqvi accused of murder"
"Jihadi leader killed with Azam Tariq"
Ikram Sehgal (The Nation, Pakistan) argues that Pakistan needs to enhance its counterinsurgency infrastructure to truly take on terrorists. Rauf Klasra (Jang, Pakistan) traces some of the sectarian terrorists' lives in Afghanistan, where they could plan and operate freely. In the Daily Times (Pakistan), Abbas Rashid suspects the role of madrassas in educating children from poor families: he wonders, "what kind of education [do the madrassas provide]? To be fair one may also want to ask what kind of education is being provided by the great majority of public sector schools that are directly the government's responsibility." Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat resisted calls for his resignation, based on the security lapse that led to Tariq's killing.
"Give us the tools "
"Tale of lives sectarian terrorists lived in Afghanistan"
"Another sectarian murder?"
"Faisal terms resignation demand absurd"