Sectarian Violence Killed 1,710 Since 2008, Senate Told

Islamabad, March 8, IRNA – Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Friday told a session of the Senate that 1,710 people have been killed since 2008 in incidents of sectarian violence across Pakistan, local media reported. The Senate session was headed by Chairman Nayyar Hussain Bokhari. The highest number of deaths were recorded in Balochistan with a death toll of 675, followed by 431 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 204 in Sindh, 146 in Punjab, 149 in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), while 100 people were assassinated in different incidents of sectarian violence in Gilgit-Baltistan. The least number of deaths were traced in the federal capital Islamabad with only five killed since 2008. According to a report by Pak Institute for Peace Studies (Pips), the rise in sectarian violence started in 2011 is continuously increasing in the country. Moreover, suicide attacks are also being used during sectarian clashes, and have resulted in the death of numerous people across the country. Furthermore, a group of researchers launched a website to document trends in sectarian violence of a period of 10 years from 2002 to 2013./end