For Muhammad Naqeeb and Zakir Hussain – a Sunni and a Sh’ia – life in Gilgit City was once about of peaceful co-existence: Muslims of each denomination lived side by side, socialized, and shared in the community. Their city, situated in the northernmost province of Pakistan, Gilgit- Baltistan, was representative of many areas of Pakistan, where religious differences among Muslims were traditionally tolerated.
But beginning with the Islamization policies of the Zia regime, sectarian tensions worked to destroy a harmonious co-existence that has yet to be restored.
In “Divide,” filmmakers Rabia Arshad, Alysha Siddiqi and Jamil Ur Rehman inspect the damage done to the city and its people, through interviews with individuals, such as Naqeeband Zakir, who have suffered unimaginable losses to religious violence and ask whether peace is possible. While a long-range view of Pakistan often suggests that peace is beyond its grasp, “Divide” argues that tolerance and harmony are possible by focusing on a specific locality and its individuals, among whom real change must begin.