'Quetta, Karachi, DI Khan, Parachinar most affected areas of sectarianism'

A recent study on "Sectarian violence in Pakistan" has revealed that Quetta in Balochistan province, Karachi in Sindh, DI Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Parachinar in FATA remained the most affected areas in Pakistan due to sectarianism where hundreds of people have lost their lives.
The study conducted by two students Syed Kumail Abbas Zaidi and Rafay Abbasi of Department of Leadership and Management Studies of National Defence University, Islamabad revealed that Shia sect was the most affected followed by Sufi (Barelvi) and then minorities.
Quoting a report of Human Rights Watch, the study revealed that around 4,000 Shia Muslims were killed from the year 1987 to 2007 and thousands more were killed in year 2008 by the banned outfits in Pakistan including Tehrike-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al-Qaeda, Jundullah, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan. It said that Shia sect was the main target of the banned outfits while 443 Sufi Muslim were killed during 22 attacks on Shrines of Sufi Saints and 128 other incidents reported from 2010 to 11.