TLP Report
PESHAWAR
The provincial president of Wahdat-ul Muslimeen, Syed Abbas Kazmi, said that the ongoing killing spree of Shia-Muslims at different parts of the province indicates the re-emergence of non-state actors attempting to fuel the sectarian crises in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday at Peshawar Press Club (PPP), he said that target killing of the Shia Muslim community during the recent month of Muharram shows that tide of violence and sectarianism has restarted in order to serve the vested interests of the non-state actors.
During the sacred month of Muharram, three members of the Shia community were shot dead in Kohat district, two Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel, who were Shias by faith, were gunned down in Parachinar district while one each were killed in Haripur and Mansehra.
Abbas Kazmi alleged the provincial government and its districts administration for observing a criminal silence over the emergence of sectarian attempts against the Shia community.
“We have reports, videos, and messages wherein police officers trying to invoke Sunni brothers against the Shia community,” Kazmi said.
He said that social media forums were frequently used to spread hatred and branding “us as non-Muslims”.
“While this hate campaigns against members of our community from certain elements continue unabated, these hate-mongers take it to new heights during Muharram,” Kazmi said while appealing to authorities to stop hate campaigns for the sake of a better society.
The provincial president said that the non-state actors have been activated and they walk freely and holding large public gatherings against the Shia community in some parts of the province.
There are reports from Mansehra that mobs launching attacks against the houses of the Shia community.
We demand from the provincial and federal governments to take steps for the safety of Shia leaders and ensure the law and order situation in Shia populated areas.
Syeed Abass Kazmi said the fact is that the murder of a number of Shia Muslims is a result of the rapid growth of hatred and violence in a society that has become increasingly fragmented.
The fear is that any the law will count for nothing more than a cosmetic measure.
“We (Shia) need much more than that in order to change the fate of the diverse groups living in our country and make it a place where they enjoy equal rights and equal security as citizens.” He added.
