What's Behind Pakistan's Deadly Sectarian Violence?

Northwest Pakistan has been the scene of sporadic explosions of sectarian violence for decades.

In the latest, over 80 people were killed during clashes in Kuram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from November 21 to 23.

Violence erupted when gunmen opened fire on a convoy of Shiite Muslims. The deadly incident sparked retaliatory attacks on the Sunni Muslim community. On November 24, the parties announced a seven-day ceasefire.

A troubled history

Pakistan is a country with a majority Sunni population. But Kuram, a mountainous region bordering Afghanistan, has a large Shiite population.

Decades of conflict, often over land, have killed thousands of people in Kurama. More than 200 people have been killed since July alone.

Northwest Pakistan has been a hotbed of militancy for decades. The emergence of Sunni and Shiite armed groups in the region has exacerbated sectarian tensions, experts say.

"The rise of militant groups from rival sects has turned Kuram into a battleground for sectarian dominance," said Ihsanula Tipu Mehsud, news director at Khorasan Diary, a website that tracks militant groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Shias say Sunni extremist groups -- including the Terik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State-Khorasan and Lashkar-e Jangvi -- are trying to exterminate or drive them out of Kuram. Many groups have targeted Shiites, whom they see as apostates.

In some of the worst violence in Kurram in decades, around 2.000 people, mostly Shiites, were killed between 2007 and 2011 when the TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, tried to overrun the district.

The Sunni community blames the violence in Kuram on the Zainebiyun Brigade, a Shiite militia made up of Pakistanis who fought in Syria. The group included Shiites from Kurama, some of whom have returned home in recent years.

Political marginalization

Experts say deadly sectarian violence in Kuram also stems from poor governance and political marginalization.

Pakistan's border regions -- including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -- have been the scene of deadly military offensives against Islamist and separatist insurgents, and the military has been accused of widespread human rights abuses.

The federal government in Islamabad and the powerful military, which has a major role in domestic and foreign affairs, have also eroded democratic norms and institutions.

In 2019, Islamabad passed a law that gave security forces in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region broad powers, including detaining suspects indefinitely or without charge.

Syed Irfan Ashraf, a university professor in the northwestern city of Peshawar, said the Pakistani military had tried to apply an "authoritarian model of governance" in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. This management model, he stated, "is now taking a huge toll."