PM vows 'tough action' against elements fanning flames of sectarianism

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday he would take “tough action” against elements who had tried to fan the flames of sectarianism during the Shia religious rituals of Ashura this weekend.
Millions of Shia Muslims performed mourning rituals to mark Ashura in Pakistan, the holiest festival in their calendar, amid measures to protect against sectarian attacks.
Ashura falls on the 10th day of the lunar calendar month of Muharram and commemorates the martyrdom in 680 AD of Hussain Ibn Ali, one of the grandsons of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), near Karbala in what is now Iraq.
“I want to thank our nation for the peaceful observing of Ashura in the country,” the prime minister said in a Twitter post. “However, unfortunately, information has come to me of elements who tried to ignite flames of sectarianism on this occasion and I will be taking very tough action against them.”
The PM did not share details about those “elements,” but the reference was seen as directed at TV channel discussions considered to be sparking sectarian sentiment.
On August 20, the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issued an advisory directing all television channels not to air content that would harm inter-faith harmony or incite hate during Muharram.
Late on Sunday PEMRA suspended the license of a prominent TV channel for “airing hate inciting content.”