Pakistan's Sunni majority and Shi'ite minority are under threat from widening sectarian divisions in the country.<br/> <br />After radical Sunni ideologue Aurangzeb Farooqi survived an attempt on his life that left six of his bodyguards dead, he called on his followers to close ranks against Karachi's Shi'ites.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) KARACHI HEAD OF AHLE SUNNAT WAL JAMA'AT, FORMERLY KNOWN AS SIPAH E-SAHABA, AURANGZEB FAROQI:<br/> <br />"People don't have to kill Shi'ites, instead they do a social boycott of them, whereby noone shakes hands with them. Killing someone is forbidden in our religion."<br/> <br />The Shi'ite minority are braced for a new chapter of persecution following a series of bombings that have killed almost 200 people in Quetta since the beginning of the year.<br/> <br />While Quetta grabbed the world's attention, a spate of murders in Karachi has led to 80 Shi'ite deaths in the past six months.<br/> <br />In return, a number of hard-line Sunni clerics and followers of Farooqi have also been killed.<br/> <br />But despite the growing death toll, many Karachi residents are still trying to create a more tolerant inclusive society.<br/> <br />One of those is Abdul Sattar Ehdi, who was nominated for a Nobel Prize for dedicating his life to Karachi's poor.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) ABDUL SATTAR EHDI, WHO WAS ONCE NOMINATED FOR A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE:<br/> <br />"We need to become human beings. We need to work for humanity leaving the weapons aside. Put an end to arms."<br/> <br />General elections due in May could be an indication of Pakistan's future path, with voices of diversity and unity competing with those of polarisation and division.
