THE hate spread is fast and furious. A spate of attacks on minority settlements and worship places came complete with the usual allegations of blasphemy and denial of the right to practise beliefs freely.From the arson attack in Faisalabad`s Jaranwala area that targeted the Christian community, leaving charred homes, churches and defaced graveyards to the broken arches of an Ahmadi worship place in Lahore and encroachment of gurdwaras and surrounding lands, all lay bare the ineptitude of administrative forces. Once again, law enforcers failed to fathom the urgency of frenzied circumstances; either controlling faith-based mob fury is not their forte or there is a criminal lack of will to arbitrate.

Whatever the reason, the all too frequent collapse of the police machinery is beginning to reek of complicity. But what makes matters even more frightening is Friday`s shocker: the apex court was taken aback when it learnt of an alleged `monitoring agreement` between the Sargodha DC and a far right organisation, which says that Christian-dominated areas will be monitored for blasphemous content.

Clearly, when the past is left unsettled in the form of Joseph colony, the routine persecution of Ahmadis and desecration of religious spaces, it sets the agenda for future attacks. Therefore, regardless of whether the alleged collusion exists or not, the mere notion of such a possibility threatens to aggravate vigilantism, taking it from its sporadic present to an organised, endorsed prospect. In a climate of worsening militancy, elements that support violence and bigotry should be overpowered, not appeased with `agreements`. These menacing assaults strike at the vitals of society, leaving no choice to the victims but to flee or wait for their turn. It`s time officialdom moved to thwart the weaponisation of laws to settle personal scores, perpetrate loot and plunder and usurp land as is evident in abandoned Ahmadi and Jaranwala homes. Moreover, any policing activity that impinges on the right to life, liberty, property and worship sanctions an obscurantism-driven majoritarian culture that will turn Pakistan into an outcast in a multicultural region. Finally, Sikhs, a community overtly supported by the state, are also scathed in this scenario, indicating that failed state policies can spawn narratives focused on hurting any `errant` threshold.

Hence, as we mark the 75th death anniversary of the Quaid tomorrow, Pakistan is a sad reflection of his ideals.