Continued Shiite attacks highlight Pakistan’s social, security crisis

ISLAMABAD, Feb 10: A recent suicide bombing at Khadija al-Kubra Mosque in Islamabad on February 6, which killed 36 people and injured several others, highlights the ongoing targeting of Pakistan’s Shiite community by extremist groups and the fragility of their security, according to a report by Islam Times.
An ISIS affiliate claimed responsibility for the attack, and four suspects linked to the bombing have been arrested.
The report traces decades of sectarian violence against Shiites in Pakistan, noting a long history of deliberate attacks aimed at inciting fear and instability.
In 1988, a terrorist attack in Gilgit Baltistan killed at least 150 Shiites.
Violence continued through the 1990s, with the emergence of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) in 1996, which openly aimed to “cleanse” Shiites from Pakistan. Major attacks targeted Shiite professionals, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens, particularly in Karachi and Quetta.
In the 2000s and 2010s, attacks increased in frequency and lethality.
Extremist groups such as Sipah-e-Sahaba, LeJ, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jundallah, and ISIS affiliates carried out suicide bombings, shootings, and mass killings.
Notable incidents include the 2003 Quetta mosque attack that killed over 53 Hazara Shiites, bus ambushes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2012 and 2024, and repeated attacks in Quetta, Karachi, Jacobabad, Parachinar, and Peshawar, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries over the years.
The report emphasizes that attacks on mosques, religious gatherings, convoys, and Shiite neighborhoods have intensified in both scale and sophistication.
Over the past three decades, these coordinated assaults have evolved into one of Pakistan’s deepest security and social crises, reflecting a deliberate strategy by extremist takfiri networks to destabilize the country and target the Shiite population systematically.
This pattern of violence underscores persistent sectarian tensions, weak protective measures for minority communities, and the continued threat posed by organized militant networks, leaving Pakistan’s Shiite population highly vulnerable. (IANS)