Fifty years after its creation in the name of religion, Pakistan is suffering a bloody sectarian war which threatens to tear it apart.
The largest province, Punjab, has been turned into a battlefield by Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim extremists. The killing of worshippers in mosques in the name of faith has shamed the nation.
The strife is a consequence of state-sponsored religious bigotry. Former military dictator General Zia ul-Haq's move to turn Pakistan into a theocratic state sowed the seeds of conflict and discrimination against religious and sectarian minorities. Imposition of retrogressive laws provided zealots with a licence to kill in the name of religion.
Successive democratically elected governments have not found the courage to break the cycle of violence.
The rise of militant sectarian groups coincided with the Islamisation of the state and the Afghan war in the 1980s.
The Islamic laws introduced by General Zia's regime were according to the beliefs of the majority Sunni sect, fuelling insecurity among minority Shi'ites.
