ISLAMABAD: More than 700 people have been killed in sectarian attacks in Pakistan during the past 18 months, says a US report released yesterday.
The findings “paint a grim and challenging picture for the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,” warns the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which conducted the study.
The commission urges Islamabad to take “concrete, resolute action” to curb religious violence and emphasises the need to “ensure that perpetrators of violence are arrested, prosecuted and jailed”.
“The findings are sobering,” says the commission while once again urging the Sharif government not to shy away from punishing groups and individuals responsible for these attacks if it wants to stem the rising tide of violent religious extremism. “The Shia community bore the brunt of attacks from militants and terrorist organisations, with some of the deadliest attacks occurring during holy months and pilgrimages,” the report notes. Internews
