IN the aftermath of last month’s deadly blast at the dargah of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, the Sindh government’s counterterrorism efforts have been stepped up. A number of suspects reportedly belonging to militant outfits have been rounded up, while suspected extremists have also been eliminated in ‘encounters’ with law enforcers. These activities are being complemented with longer-term efforts. These include attempts at better monitoring of places of worship belonging to all religious groups. As published in this paper on Wednesday, the Sindh administration plans to launch a video surveillance project of places of worship belonging to non-Muslim faith groups. Earlier, the Sindh chief minister had ordered “foolproof” security of various dargahs and shrines in the province. These efforts are welcome, for it can be argued that it was security lacunae that allowed militants to carry out the dastardly bombing at the Qalandar’s shrine. However, video surveillance, for example, can come in handy after an act of terrorism, to trace down culprits or their handlers. What the Sindh and federal authorities must concentrate on is neutralising the extremist cells believed to be active in the province.

While many talk of the ‘Sufi’ and ‘pluralist’ character of Sindh, there has been a steady stream of evidence emerging over the past few years that points to the existence of militant and sectarian groups in the province, particularly its northern districts. Lashkar-i-Jhangvi is believed to be particularly active in this region. Before the Sehwan blast there was a massive bombing at a Shikarpur imambargah in 2015, while last year militants tried to storm an imambargah in Khanpur, also located in Shikarpur district. Last week, the police’s counterterrorism department claimed to have arrested the Shikarpur chief of LJ. Unfortunately, no part of the country is immune from the sectarian and militant menace. Therefore, it is reassuring that the Sindh government has realised that a problem exists. Now the challenge before it is to root out such violent networks before they can cause more devastation.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2017