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Following the killing of Ahmadi physician Tahir Ahmad in November, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom posted an official tweet calling upon authorities to ensure the safety of all Pakistanis. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), however, the number of sectarian attacks and killings by armed groups decreased compared with previous years, corresponding with a continued overall decline in terrorist attacks. The victims, burned to death by an angry mob, were Babar Noman and Hafiz Naeem. He is one of over 50 Shia Muslims in Sunni-majority Pakistan, who have been booked under blasphemy and antiterrorist charges over the last month. It has an estimated 23 million people who adhere to Islam. The proposal named a prominent Hindu business owner and ruling PTI party leader as the commissions chair, along with other Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Parsi, and Kalash members. After Iran and India, Pakistan has the world's third-largest Shia community, accounting for ten percent of the total population. Page 2 of 41 Preface. In July, residents in the Sheikpura District of Punjab damaged Ahmadi gravestones. Population of males is 106018220 and females is 101344632. 2020, in July, 2020, Pakistani police arrested three LeJ operatives who were allegedly planning to carry out an attack in . They complained that Dalits, who are considered to be the lowest in the traditional Hindu caste structure, were being targeted and subjected to violence and torture in Thar and other areas. Also in September, according to law enforcement reports, Peshawar police rescued an Ahmadi family after a large mob gathered outside their home, accusing the family of preaching Ahmadi beliefs. The constant tension between Shia and Sunni has led to the creation of Shia-Specific organizations. According to legal advocacy groups, some lower courts continued to conduct proceedings in an intimidating atmosphere, with members of antiblasphemy groups, such as the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), often threatening the defendants attorneys, family members, and supporters. On January 22, the Hyderabad center hosted an event on educational institutions roles in promoting tolerance and creating peaceful communities. Members of religious minority communities stated public schools gave Muslim students bonus grade points for memorizing the Quran, but there were no analogous opportunities for extra academic credit available for religious minority students. On June 25, an antiterrorism court sentenced five al-Qaida militants to 16 years imprisonment each for terrorist financing and possession of explosives. The constitution states no person shall be required to take part in any religious ceremony or attend religious worship relating to a religion other than the persons own. According to 2017 census total house hold in Pakistan are 32205111. These observers said the general refusal of lower courts to hold timely hearings or acquit those accused persisted due to fear of reprisal and vigilantism. A complainant filed a criminal charge against them on May 3, triggering the police investigation. Minority lawmakers and civil society activists reacted strongly to the attack, stating the boys had been instigated by local Muslim clerics. Pakistan's Human Rights Commission reported more than 200 terrorist attacks resulted in nearly 700 Shia deaths and over 1,000 Shia injuries in 2013. In Peshawar, security was increased around churches ahead of Christmas after security forces arrested four militants on December 17 who were allegedly planning an attack on Christmas Day, which is also celebrated as Quaid-i-Azam Day, the birthday of Pakistans founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. On December 24, the PTA issued a legal notice to two Ahmadi U.S. citizens requiring them to remove their website, trueislam.com, or face fines, sanctions, or potential prison sentences. The resolution stated, This House demands that if the chief of Qadianis [a derogatory term for Ahmadis] submits in writing declaring that they accept the Constitution of Pakistan and accept their status as non-Muslims, then we will have no objection to their inclusion into the Commission.. Neither the National Assembly nor the Senate had acted on the 2018 judgment by years end, but Ahmadiyya community representatives said that NADRA required Ahmadis to declare in an affidavit that they are non-Muslims to obtain a national identification card, another requirement of the high court judgment. In May, the Cabinet approved a proposal creating a National Commission for Minorities within the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The constitution states this requirement shall not affect the personal laws of non-Muslim citizens or their status as citizens. By law, decisions of the FSC may be appealed to the Supreme Courts Shariat Appellate Bench. Christian advocates also called on the government to allow them to travel to Israel. The Sindh High Court on October 27 originally upheld the validity of the marriage, citing the marriage certificate that indicated the girl was 18 years old, and ruling that she had converted to Islam and married of her own free will. The charges carry up to three years imprisonment and a fine. The Shia Militia Mapping Project | The Washington Institute According to the SATP and media reports, antiterrorism courts convicted and sentenced several individuals affiliated with terrorist organizations and involved in past sectarian attacks and targeted killings. The womans family said she was pregnant at the time of her suicide and that police initially refused to file charges against the man because of his caste. How many Shia are in India? 3 - Challenging School Textbooks: The Sectarian Making of National Updated April 2020 About the Authors. On July 31, Hindu business owner and member of the Khairpur Chamber of Commerce and Industries Raja Kishan Chand was killed by unknown gunmen in that city. He fears if he is seen on the streets of Karachi, the Pakistan city he calls home, he will be a dead man walking. Religion in Pakistan - Wikipedia 3. Minority rights activists criticized these advertisements as discriminatory and insulting. Updated: September 04, 2020 06:14 AM GMT. The high circulation daily Jang also published a lengthy editorial on the struggle to declare Ahmadis as non-Muslims in a special magazine edition. Print and broadcast media outlets continued to publish and broadcast anti-Ahmadi rhetoric. Bakhtawar Jaffri, a Shia rights activist in Punjab, said she had recently filed a police report for anti-Shia hate speech but it had been ignored. Since 1980s, Parachinar, with majority Shia population, has seen the emergence of radical Saudi-sponsored Salafist groups, and sectarian violence has become a disturbing phenomenon, fueled by local and global terrorist organizations like the Taliban and ISIS. Then, in mid-September, a march of more than 30,000 people, organised by extremist Sunni Muslim groups, gathered in Karachi over two days to call Shia Muslims unbelievers and blasphemers and called for their beheading. The situation worsened further last week when an influential Sunni religious scholar, Maulana Dr Adil Khan, was killed in an attack. On December 15, the Lahore High Court acquitted a second Christian man, Imran Ghafur Masih, who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2010. The Religious Affairs Ministry later issued a statement saying Ahmadis would not be included on the commission, given the religious and historical sensitivity of including Ahmadis in government institutions. Inflammatory anti-Ahmadi rhetoric continued to exist on social media and was at times spread by senior members of mainstream political parties. According to sources, the Shia population of Pakistan is estimated to be between 10 and 15 percent (Australia 20 Feb. 2019, para. A local jihadist group and a violent protest movement are driving renewed sectarian strife in Pakistan. Sunni coalition to demand arrest of Shia clerics in Pakistan. On November 9, also in Peshawar, unknown gunmen killed an 82-year-old retired government worker who was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community while he was waiting for a bus. The youngest was three years old. U.S. Government Policy and Engagement. Department of State programs, including outreach activities such as speakers and workshops, helped to promote peacebuilding among religious and community leaders. According to some estimates, the Barelvi school of . In July, religious and right-wing parties criticized the governments plan to permit construction of a new Hindu temple in Islamabad. Human rights activists reported numerous instances of societal violence related to allegations of blasphemy; of efforts by individuals to coerce religious minorities to convert to Islam; and of societal harassment, discrimination, and threats of violence directed at members of religious minority communities. Sunnis are generally believed to be 80-85 percent of the Muslim population, and Shia Muslims, including Hazara, Ismaili, and Bohra (a branch of Ismaili), are generally believed to make up 15-20 percent. IRB - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada - ecoi.net Shias are around 20% of the world muslim population. Thousands of anti-Shia protesters recently gathered in the city of Karachi, with many openly showing ties to Sunni extremist groups like Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Sipah-e-Sahaba, which has documented links to the killing of hundreds of Shia Muslims over the past few years. In October, members of a State Youth Parliament team in Gujranwala defaced a public portrait of the countrys first Nobel laureate, physicist Dr. Abdus Salam, an Ahmadi. At other times, advocacy groups reported that blasphemy trials were held inside jails for security reasons, in which case the hearings were not public, resulting in a gain in immediate security but a loss of transparency. The accused were mostly Shia (70 percent of cases) and Ahmadi Muslims (20 percent of cases). A New Era of Sectarian Violence in Pakistan | Crisis Group If represented by a Muslim lawyer, however, non-Muslims may consult the FSC in other matters, such as questions of sharia or Islamic practice that affect them or violate their rights. Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board - IRB The constitution also grants the FSC revisional jurisdiction (the power to review of its own accord) over criminal cases in the lower courts relating to certain crimes under the Hudood Ordinance, including rape and those linked to Islamic morality, such as extramarital sex, alcohol use, and gambling. Visiting U.S. government officials met with religious minority community representatives, parliamentarians, human rights activists, and members of the federal cabinet to highlight concerns regarding the treatment of religious minority communities, the application of blasphemy laws, and other forms of discrimination on the basis of religion. They represent about 21 per cent of the total Muslim population, the highest number in a country after Iran. Police intervened on multiple occasions to quell mob violence directed at individuals accused of blasphemy. Shias: Heretics in a Sunni Pakistan - Modern Diplomacy The province-level Sindh Hindu Marriage Act and the national-level Hindu Marriage Act (applying to federal territory and all other provinces) codify legal mechanisms to formally register and prove the legitimacy of Hindu marriages. In May, the Federal Investigative Agency raided the Lahore home of Ahmadi missionary and youth worker Rohan Ahmad, arresting him on charges of cybercrime, blasphemy against the Quran, and propagating the Ahmadi faith through a WhatsApp group in September 2019. Police arrested more than 45 JUI-F followers and clerics involved in the destruction. Pakistani Shias live in terror as sectarian violence increases Students who identify themselves as Muslims must declare in writing they believe Mohammed is the final prophet. These attacks targeted gatherings of Shia individuals. During his February visit to Karachi, the Department of State Special Adviser for Religious Minorities told students and faculty at Karachi Universitys Department of Islamic Studies, An inclusive society creates more space for trade and prosperity. The audience applauded his comments about the protection of religious freedom for Muslims in the United States. victims of Takfiri terrorism and govt apathy - Tehran Times On October 25, a Hindu temple was vandalized in Nagarparkar, Sindh, during the nine-day Navratri celebrations. The government did not permit Ahmadis to teach Islamic studies in public schools. Phillip Smyth was a Soref Fellow at The Washington Institute from 2018-2021. Sunnis represent approximately 75 percent of this population and Shias 20 . On August 22, another teenage Christian escaped from the home of Mohamad Nakash, a Muslim who had kidnapped her in April and had been holding her since. rate of urbanization: 2.1% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), a national NGO, expressed concern over a surge in blasphemy cases against religious minorities, particularly the Shia community, and the continued potential for sectarian violence. Sources vary on the precise breakdown of the Muslim population between Sunni and Shia Muslims. The event received positive coverage in local media. On August 24, the Karachi center hosted a talk entitled, How to Develop Religious Tolerance and Empathy, with Syed Ali Hameed from the Shaoor Foundation and a consulate general officer. Timeline: Modern Sunni-Shia Tensions - Council on Foreign Relations 1 These two groups have been at odds for centuries. The Sunni majority is using blasphemy laws to target and murder those they call heretics. Reactions to the PTAs measure was mixed, with many social media users praising the decision to ban TikTok, but others concerned that the government could use this to target religious minorities.