Pakistan's minorities continue to suffer in wake of escalating violence

The war on minority communities in Pakistan seems to be escalating, with more number of attacks being carried out on different religious groups in the country. The twin blasts at All Saints Church, Peshawar a year ago still haunts the nation and the Christian minority there. Some 90 people lost their lives and over 100 were injured in the worst attack against the Christian community in Pakistan.

The killings invoked a feeling of revulsion among Pakistanis, with many expressing solidarity with the community. The Sikh community living in Pakistan has also faced the onslaught of hatred and violence directed at them time and again. In Peshawar itself, the small Sikh community has been repeatedly targeted this year. Five Sikhs have been killed in as many months, with two fatalities in the first week of September alone, the Dawn reports.

Another minority group called the Zikris- a little-known Islamic sect - that surfaced during Gen Zia's time, was attacked by an armed group in their place of worship in Balochistan, killing six people and wounding several others. Pakistan's inability to control crimes committed against these communities can be attributed to the state's refusal to take active measures to control religious extremism.

The report says that banned/extremist organisations extending their influence to untouched by communal strife; hate speech being freely disseminated; the use of blasphemy law as a tool of persecution; derogatory references to minority communities in school curricula- all contributes to the increasing acts of violence against the minority communities in the country.