THE fires of extremism are beginning to consume even those parts of the country that were earlier relatively free of it. On Saturday, a 22-year-old teacher affiliated with a language centre was gunned down by unknown assailants in Turbat, Kech district, Balochistan, on an allegation of blasphemy. Abdul Rauf was targeted while on his way to attend a jirga to explain his position on the accusations, which he categorically denied. Some students at the language centre had complained to clerics that the young man had committed blasphemy during a lecture, and the jirga with over 100 ulema had been arranged at a madressah. His murder is only the latest in a long line of casualties at the hands of vigilantes who believe they are judge, jury and executioner. A mere allegation of blasphemy can be a death sentence — as with Mashal Khan, Priyantha Kumara and many others. When cases do come to trial, the judges and defence lawyers involved expose themselves to risk; some have been killed for finding an accused innocent, or for defending them, respectively.

But Abdul Rauf’s murder illustrates another disturbing fact — that when a critical mass is reached in the spread of a radical thought process, no place is immune. Like a corrosive acid, it begins to consume whatever it touches. Unbeknownst to many fellow Pakistanis who associate Balochistan with a regressive tribal culture and/or militant violence, Kech district in the Makran belt where Turbat is located, is one of the more progressive areas of Pakistan with an educated youth demographic and a tradition of religious harmony. It is also the principal theatre of the ongoing Baloch insurgency, to counter which the state began promoting an ultra-conservative ideology — manifested in the mushrooming of seminaries in the area. The seeds of hatred planted several years ago have started bearing fruit; the unfortunate Abdul Rauf, who was not even given a chance to defend himself, is its first victim.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2023