Pakistan is no country for minorities of any kind, Muslim or non-Muslim. Non-Muslim minorities have barely any rights, and even Ahmadis are counted as non-Muslims. Shia Muslims have long been the target of what is called a ‘Shia genocide’ by many experts and analysts.
A recent suggestion by the government of Punjab to gag social media apps during Muharram shows that the state knows it cannot do anything against vigilante groups and so wants to find the easy way out. According to a news story, the Punjab government wrote “to the interior ministry calling for a shutdown of various platforms — Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, X, etc — between Muharram 6 and 11 “to control hate … and to avoid sectarian violence”, citing the threat of “external forces” supposedly disseminating hate material.”
As an editorial in Dawn notes, “security concerns are absolutely valid during Muharram, which begins either tomorrow or on Monday, but mass shutdowns of the internet/social media are not the most advisable method of ensuring peace. This policy focuses more on the symptoms — hate material and misuse of social media — rather than the actual disease — the presence of violent hate groups that have been fanning the flames of communalism in society for decades.” Instead of gagging social media, maybe the state needs to act to ensure “peace during sensitive periods, primarily through greater vigilance and monitoring.”
The Dawn editorial noted sadly in conclusion: “The fact is that in most countries Muharram passes off without incident. But because significant chunks of society in Pakistan have been radicalised, and confessional differences exploited, things are different in this country. Shutting down the internet, phones and social media is not the way to ensure communal peace. Going after hatemongers and violent sectarian groups, as well as monitoring troublemakers from all confessional backgrounds, can be much more effective in keeping violence at bay.”
