A Message Written in Blood

Ishtiaq Ahmed

Bradford: The attack on a Shia place of worship in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan and the nerve centre of state power, was not merely an act of terror. 

It was a calculated message to the government and security apparatus that their claims of control and stability ring hollow. If sectarian violence can strike at the heart of the capital, then nowhere in the country can credibly be described as secure.

This was not an isolated incident, nor will it be the last. Pakistan’s Shia community, like other religious minorities, has long been the target of systematic violence. 

Each attack reinforces a grim reality: despite repeated assurances by successive governments that terrorism has been “defeated,” the threat has merely mutated and embedded itself deeper into society.

The state’s response to such violence has become depressingly predictable. Condemnations are issued, investigations promised, and blame swiftly externalised. If not India, then Afghanistan; if not Afghanistan, then vaguely defined “foreign-sponsored elements.” 

This reflexive deflection may serve short-term political narratives, but it does little to address the entrenched domestic drivers of sectarian extremism.

By externalising responsibility, the state avoids confronting uncomfortable truths about ideological radicalisation, governance failures, and complicity, both active and passive, within its own institutions.

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There is ample historical evidence that attacks on Shia places of worship are neither sporadic nor accidental. 

From the 2013 bombings in Quetta that killed over 80 members of the Hazara Shia community, to repeated assaults on Ashura processions in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi, sectarian violence has followed a chilling pattern.

Mosques, imambargahs, and religious gatherings have repeatedly been targeted during sacred occasions, suggesting not only intent to kill but also to terrorise and humiliate an entire community. 

Human rights organisations and independent monitors have consistently documented how perpetrators often operate with impunity, while prosecutions remain rare and convictions rarer still.

Violence against Shias exists within a wider environment of persecution. Minorities regularly face mob violence over blasphemy accusations; experience forced conversions and abductions. The idealised narrative of Pakistan as the “land of the pure” stands in stark contrast to the lived reality of its minorities.

Sectarianism, once fringe, has become normalised, woven into public discourse, media debates, and even electoral politics. 

One of the most corrosive factors behind unchecked extremism is Pakistan’s toxic political culture. Rather than taking responsibility, political actors routinely inflame religious sentiments for tactical gain, whether to divert public attention from governance failures or to mobilise street power.

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This manipulation of religion has persisted for decades, to the point where it is no longer an aberration but a governing norm. Extremist groups thrive in this environment, aware that their ideological narratives often overlap with mainstream political rhetoric.

Law enforcement agencies, meanwhile, remain crippled by corruption, sectarian bias, nepotism, and a near-total lack of accountability. 

Investigations are frequently mishandled, witnesses intimidated, and cases quietly abandoned. In some instances, ideological sympathies within the ranks further undermine impartial enforcement of the law.

The result is a pervasive culture of impunity, where extremists operate with confidence and victims are left without justice.

Extremism does not flourish in a vacuum. Pakistan’s failing economic infrastructure has eroded livelihoods and dignity for millions. With a weak social safety net and rampant inflation, vast segments of the population live hand-to-mouth, vulnerable to exploitation by criminal networks and radical recruiters.

Poverty alone does not cause terrorism, but when combined with poor education, social exclusion, and ideological indoctrination, it becomes a powerful tool for violence.

The attack in Islamabad should have shattered any remaining illusions that sectarian violence is a peripheral problem. It is not. 

It is deeply rooted, politically enabled, institutionally neglected, and socially tolerated. Until the state confronts these internal realities, rather than outsourcing blame, condemnations will remain hollow, and bloodshed will continue to define the nation’s headlines.

The author is a British citizen of Pakistani origin with a keen interest in Pakistani and international affairs.

The article is the writer’s opinion, it may or may not adhere to the organization’s editorial policy.