THE national media did not fully cover the Feb 12 explosion in Khuzdar, a city familiar to such sounds, but it was different this time — a hand grenade was hurled at Noorani Masjid (belonging to the minority Barelvi sect). It exploded with a loud bang, leaving behind a student injured.

This was alarming for the residents of Khuzdar, Balochistan’s second largest city and an important junction for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor roads. The people of Khuzdar are tired of decade-long violence.

A city known for producing political leaders of Balochistan in the past, Khuzdar is now producing religious extremists, who do not seem to tolerate minority sects anymore. Until 2010, Khuzdar had a number of Shias, but the wave of sectarianism that started in Quetta reached Khuzdar, and the head of the Shia community, Hashim Hazara, became their first target in 2012. No wonder, the whole Shia community left the city. Does the Feb 12 incident indicate that the serpent is not dead yet? Also, another mass migration of another sect is inevitable, leaving behind an important city less diverse and less tolerant.

Maqbool Sasoli
Khuzdar

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2018