Senate question hour: Sectarian death toll much higher, says opposition

ISLAMABAD: Sectarian strife has proved costly for the country, accounting for well over 1,710 deaths since 2008, the interior ministry said in a written reply to a question in the Senate. The figures covering all provinces and collated year-wise from 2008 to February 15, 2014 seem to be missing a number of high profile killings, according to opposition members in the upper house. Pakistan Peoples Party’s Senator Sughra Imam, who had filed the question, and other members from opposition benches protested against what they called ‘misleading and incomplete’ reply. The question will be taken up once again, on the directives of the chairman.

According to government’s figures, Balochistan remained the worst hit province with 675 sectarian killings, followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with 431, Sindh 204, Punjab 146 and Fata with 194 sectarian killings recorded during the mentioned period. Around 100 people became victims of sectarian violence in Gilgit-Baltistan while five in the capital territory. Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2014.