Pakistan was founded 50 years ago as a Muslim state: but in recent years tensions have escalated between rival Islamic traditions.

Militant organisations have sprung up on both sides of the Sunni-Shia divide. Last October a rally was held to demand that Pakistan be declared a Sunni state. It was organised by the extremist Sunni group the Sipah-e-Sahabah, which police suspect was behind this week's mass killing in Lahore.

Tit-for-tat sectarian killings reached a peak in the latter part of 1997. A bomb thrown into this mosque in Multan killed several worshippers. Mosques and religious schools were also targetted in other towns.

A police crackdown against the militants sent many of them underground: a relative lull in sectarian killings followed. A new anti-terrorist law was also passed to deal with the gunmen.

The Punjab government has been claiming to have things under control. But recently, Sunni extremists have published hit lists, naming targets like the Iranian ambassador.

Sunni hardliners accuse Iran of backing Pakistani Shias. At the official level, relations between the two countries have been improving.
At the recent Islamic Conference summit in Tehran, they agreed to cooperate more closely on the issue of Afghanistan.

A BBC Correspondent says that the mass killing of Pakistani Shias, is likely to be a matter of great concern to the leadership in Tehran.
 

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