The Easter attack in Lahore that killed more than 70 people, including many women and children, was aimed at clearing out minorities, and is a test of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s recent outreach to the country’s Christians and Hindus, says Pakistani author and former member of Parliament Farahanaz Ispahani.
“By attacking Christians celebrating Easter, the terrorists are continuing their quest to purify Pakistan of all religious minorities and those who don’t conform to their limited vision,” Ms. Ispahani, who authored a book on minorities in Pakistan this year called Purifying the Land of the Pure . “It was also a clear rejection of Mr. Sharif’s participation in Christmas celebrations this past winter and the announcement of Easter, Diwali and Holi as publicly mandated holidays,” Ms. Ispahani told The Hindu in response to questions sent by e-mail.According to the Pakistani census, Christians account for about 1.6 per cent of population, or 2.9 million, about the same as the Hindu population, figures that are on the decline.
In a statement, Ehsanullah Ehsan, the spokesperson of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (JA) had claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that “the target was Christians,” and added a dire message for the Pakistani Prime Minister.
“We want to send a message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that we have entered Lahore.” The TTP (JA) has carried out at least four other bombings, including one at Wagah border in the past few months.
The attack comes as severe blow to Pakistan’s “National Action Plan” on terrorism that was launched after the killing of more than 130 children at the military school in Peshawar in December 2014. At the time, PM Sharif had vowed to make no distinction between “good terrorists and bad terrorists.”
By September 2015, a Terrorism portal claimed terror attacks had decreased by as much as 70 per cent and hit their lowest in years. Further, an operation against sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which targeted minorities in Punjab, was seen as a signal that the government would also act against groups previously not targeted by security forces. “They make distinctions among terrorist groups but terrorists protect each other,” said Ms. Ispahani, countering that view. “As long as one group is allowed to function others will continue to operate in their shadow,” she added.
In another signal from Mr. Sharif, the government ordered the execution of Mumtaz Qadri, the bodyguard of the former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer on March 1. Far from stemming the tide of Islamist radicalism, the execution has seen large crowds come out in support of Qadri and demanding that Sharia law be implemented in Pakistan. “The pro Qadri rally in Islamabad shows once again that Islamist mobs can overtake the capital of Pakistan, attempt to attack parliament and hold public rallies and we see no strong action by the government for many hours,” Ms. Ispahani said, adding that Mr. Sharif’s clout to stay the course in fighting terrorism, is now on test.
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