AFTER an all-too-brief lull, sectarian terror revisited the country on Sunday on the occasion of Chehlum. At least 18 people were killed while many more were wounded when a bomb went off targeting a mourning procession in Khanpur, a town in southern Punjab's Rahim Yar Khan district. There was some confusion regarding the nature of the blast, with police initially saying a transformer had exploded. However, police officials later said the explosion was the result of a remote-controlled bomb.

The bomb exploded when mourners were leaving a local imambargah. Another bomb was discovered and defused near the same imambargah on Monday.

Some media reports have said sectarian terror outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangvi has claimed credit for the attack. Given LJ's bloody track record and the region's dynamics, that is entirely plausible.

There was some relief when Ashura passed off peacefully last month. But as the Khanpur incident illustrates, the militants were only lying low and waiting for the right opportunity to strike. The blast may also signal a change in tactics. Due to increased security cover during religious events in largercities, it is likely that the militants have shifted the focus of their destructive energies to smaller towns where security arrangements are less stringent.

However, although the southern portion of Punjab has not seen the type of attacks cities such as Karachi, Lahore and Quetta have witnessed during Muharram and other periods of religious commemoration, the region is no stranger to sectarian strife. Sipah-i-Sahaba, now renamed the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, originated in Jhang in central Punjab, while south Punjab is considered the stomping ground of the so-called Punjabi Taliban, the umbrella term used to describe the various jihadi and sectarian militias that have spread havoc across Pakistan. 'Banned' groups are known to operate seminaries in the region. Also, Malik Ishaq, the dreaded leader of Lashkar-iJhangvi, hails from Rahim Yar Khan. So perhaps Khanpur was always a 'soft' target. Whatever the case, it bears repetition that until the state has the courage to dismantle all militant groups and prosecute and punish individuals involved in acts of terrorism, tragedies such as this one will keep recurring.