In their latest attempt to disrupt peace, the so-called guardians of Islam have attacked the Shrine of Panj Pir in Hazarkhwani in Peshawar and a mosque in Gausabad, Quetta, killing five and injuring 48 people altogether. There is nothing new about this ill-gotten frenzy that, over the years, has desecrated the shrines of some prominent saints—Sakhi Sarwar, Data Ganj Baksh, Baba Farid Ganj Shakar, Abdullah Shah Ghazi, Abu Saeed Baba and Rehman Baba. The puritans consider shrines places that promote polytheism. Unfortunately the puritans in their zest to cleanse Islam of unnecessary deviations forget that the relation of a disciple and his Sheikh (teacher) is revered in Islamic culture. They forget that the spread of Islam in the subcontinent would not have been possible without the teachings and wisdom of the Sheikhs or saints called Sufis. The issue is that the followers of this new breed of Islam driven by emotions mainly have alienated themselves from the philosophy of Islam that stresses on adapting Islam to local customs without interfering with the former’s basic principles. Nowhere in Islam are visits to cemeteries forbidden. These are graves with a difference, purpose-built to keep intact the veneration attached to the great souls buried there. The benevolence and love of the Sufis for the people have brought them devotees across all sectarian and religious divides. Unfortunately, the attack on the mosque in Quetta could well be a sectarian assault. Balochistan has become a killing field of sectarianism, where people are targeted for their attachment to a particular sect and slaughtered mercilessly. The recent killing of schoolchildren of the Hazara community is a case in point. No one has claimed responsibility for both the attacks but going by the track record, the Lashkar-e-Islami is suspected to be behind the attack on the shrine. Understandably, foolproof security in a country ripped apart by terrorism is not possible everywhere. However, with the soft targets known by now, extra security measures could help prevent such attacks. The role of intelligence agencies needs to be made more relevant in the sense that organisations prone to such activities should be focused on and pre-empted from such nefarious designs. But even if we improve policing, security and intelligence, unless the law of evidence, a witness security programme and the prosecution system are revamped, developed and overhauled, no amount of effort at nipping the evil in the bud would be successful. Terrorists will keep getting released by the courts for lack of evidence and the destruction would persist. We need to strengthen the flawed security system to ensure a safe and liveable Pakistan. *