Finally, there are the 500,000 Hazaras in Quetta, who are Shias and migrated from Afghanistan more than a century ago. They are ethnically Mongoloid, which makes their identification as Shias quite easy and, consequently, Sunni sectarian militants on vehicles pick off Hazaras as easy targets. Of over 400 Shias killed in sectarian violence in Pakistan in 2012, the largest were Hazaras.
To further complicate matters, the Taliban have climbed on to the sectarian bandwagon to spread their influence outside the Pakhtoon belt. Most large-scale attacks on Shias, especially in Sindh and Punjab, bear clear Taliban signatures.
Worse, there are accusations that "the omnipotent security establishment" has been supporting Sunni militants in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, where many dreaded sectarian militants have been let loose. It appears as if "the establishment" perceives sectarian violence to be an effective antidote against nationalist movements in these restive regions.
Sunni militants have not confined their attacks to mainstream twelver (Ithna Ashari) Shias but have also targeted smaller sub-sects of Shia Islam like Ismailis (followers of the Aga Khan) and Dawoodi Bohras. It is ironical that in a state where the head of the state, Asif Ali Zardari, is Shia, not a day passes when some Shia is not targetted for professing his faith.
