Pakistan has a long history of sectarian violence.
Pakistan(***)s religious and ethnic make-up is represented in its national flag - with the green section standing for the country(***)s Muslim majority and the white strip denoting its minorities [GALLO/GETTY]
Published On 18 Sep 201118 Sep 2011
But despite this expression of inclusiveness, the country has long been the scene of sectarian violence [EPA]
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Ethnic groups in Pakistan are generally categorised according to various combinations of religion, language and sometimes tribe [EPA]
Since the 1980s, thousands have been killed in violence between Sunnis and Shias, who are thought to make up between 10% to 15% of the country(***)s Muslim population [EPA]
Recently, the southern port city of Karachi has been the scene of widespread sectarian violence between the majority Urdu-speaking and minority Pashto-speaking ethnic groups. At least 63 people were killed there in just three days in August, 2011 [EPA]
Approximately 1.6% of the country(***)s population is Hindu and 1.6% Christian, while 0.3% belong to other religions, such as Bahaism and Sikhism [GALLO/GETTY]
Muslim and non-Muslim minorities have come under attack. Shahbaz Bhatti, the Christian minister of Minorities Affairs, was murdered on March 2 by the Pakistani Taliban [EPA]
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Today, much of the sectarian violence takes place in the north west of the country and in Karachi, Pakistan(***)s financial centre and the capital of the Sindh province [EPA]
Tensions in Karachi ran particularly high during the 1990s, largely because of violence between factions of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), which until 1997 was known as the Muhajir Quami Movement. The political group represents the Urdu-speaking Muhajir population which migrated from India at the time of partition [EPA]
Much of the violence in Karachi, which left approximately 3,600 people dead between 1996 and 1998, stems from long-standing tensions between the Muhajirs, the ethnic Sindhi population and the provincial government [EPA]
Pakistan(***)s minority Shia community has been attacked during public rallies [EPA]
On al-Quds day in 2010, 55 Shias were killed in a suicide attack during a public rally against Israel and US policy in the Middle East [EPA]
One of the most deadly attacks in Pakistan this year was a twin suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab; with 51 people killed and more than 92 injured [EPA]
Syed Ali Abbas, a 25-year-old activist, travels across Pakistan trying to tackle extremism and bring an end to the violence that is strangulating his country [EPA]
