Sectarian violence in Pakistan

Sectarian violence in Pakistan
Date1970 – present
(54 years)
Location
Pakistan
Result

Some success in reduction of killings and attacks on civilians[12][13][14]

Belligerents

Terrorist & extremist groups

Baloch separatist groups:

Islamic State-Aligned groups

Islamic State-Unorganized cell

Pakistan Pakistan

Commanders and leaders
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
Since 1947, tens of thousands of Shia were killed in Pakistan by militants[11][20][21][22]

Sectarian violence in Pakistan refers to violence directed against people and places in Pakistan motivated by antagonism toward the target's religious sect. As many as 4,000 Shia (a Muslim minority group) are estimated to have been killed in sectarian attacks in Pakistan between 1987 and 2007,[23] and thousands more Shia have been killed by Salafi extremists from 2008 to 2014, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).[24] Sunni (the largest Muslim sect) Sufis and Barelvis[25][note 1] have also suffered from some sectarian violence, with attacks on religious shrines killing hundreds of (usually Bareelvi) worshippers[27] (more orthodox Sunni believing shrine culture to be idolatrous),[28][29][30] and some Deobandi leaders assassinated. Pakistan minority religious groups, including Hindus, Ahmadis, and Christians, have "faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution" in at least two recent years (2011 and 2012), according to Human Rights Watch.[31][32] One significant aspect of the attacks in Pakistan is that militants often target their victims places of worship during prayers or religious services in order to maximize fatalities and to "emphasize the religious dimensions of their attack".[33]

Among those blamed for the sectarian violence in the country are mainly Deobandi militant groups, such as the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),[34] and also the Jundallah (an affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant).[33] Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan "has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks" on Shia according to Human Rights Watch.[24] In recent years the Barelvi group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (Labbaik) has been credited with instigating much violence.[28] Salafi militant groups (such as Islamic State) are also blamed for attacks on Shias, Barelvis and Sufis.[35][36] As of 2022, violent sectarian groups continue to expand their influence across the country, with less violence from SSP and LeJ, but more from Labbaik[28] and the Islamic State, and limited response from the state to counter their large-scale attacks.[28]

Sectarian Violence in Pakistan: 1989-2018[37]

100
200
300
400
500
600
1990
2000
2010
  •   incidents
  •   killed
  1. ^ "Pakistan Airbase In Mianwali Under Attack By Tehreek-e-Jihad; Loud Explosions And Smoke..." 4 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Pakistan says has eliminated Uighur militants from territory". Reuters. 18 October 2015.
  3. ^ Bennett-Jones, Owen (8 March 2017). "North Waziristan: What happened after militants lost the battle?". BBC News. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik fuels anti-France violence in Pakistans". France 24. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021."TLP worker pulls down Maharaja Ranjit Singh's statue in Pakistan". 17 August 2021.Ali, Imran Gabol | Shakeel Qarar | Imtiaz (14 April 2021). "Government has decided to ban TLP, says interior minister". dawn.com. Retrieved 14 April 2021."Govt decides to ban TLP under anti-terror law". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Cabinet okays revocation of TLP's proscribed status". Dawn (newspaper). 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  6. ^ "TLP no longer proscribed outfit after govt removes name from first schedule of anti-terrorism act". Geo News. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  7. ^ New groups takes credit for Pakistan blast, United Press International, 2009-06-11
  8. ^ "ISIS Now Has a Network of Military Affiliates in 11 Countries Around the World". Intelligencer. 23 November 2014.
  9. ^ "IS Delineates "Khorasan Province" from "Pakistan Province" in Attack Claims, One Involving Targeted Killing in Rawalpindi". Jihadist Threat. SITE Intelligence Group. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  10. ^ Hussain, Murtaza. "Pakistan's Shia genocide". Aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Thematic Chronology of Mass Violence in Pakistan, 1947–2007 – Sciences Po Violence de masse et Résistance – Réseau de recherche". Sciencespo.fr. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Decline in terrorism". Dawn. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Database – KPK from 2005 to present". SATP. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Database – FATA from 2005 to present". SATP. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  15. ^ "TTP extends ceasefire till May 30 after 'successful' talks". The Express Tribune. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  16. ^ Khan, Tahir (18 May 2022). "TTP extends ceasefire until May 30 as talks continue in Afghanistan". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Pakistan Taliban extend truce for more talks with government". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  18. ^ Baloch, Shah Meer; Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (31 January 2023). "North-west Pakistan in grip of deadly Taliban resurgence". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  19. ^ Lieven, Anatol (2017). "Counter-Insurgency in Pakistan: The Role of Legitimacy". Small Wars & Insurgencies. 28: 166–190. doi:10.1080/09592318.2016.1266128. S2CID 151355749.
  20. ^ "Pakistan's Shia Under Attack". Human Rights Watch. 7 July 2014. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  21. ^ "Pakistan: Rampant Killings of Shia by Extremists". Human Rights Watch. 29 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  22. ^ "Anti-Shia Hashtag Mapping Shows That 80% Of The Accounts Were Operating From India". Siasat.pk. 20 September 2020.
  23. ^ Montero, David (2 February 2007). "Shiite-Sunni conflict rises in Pakistan". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  24. ^ a b "Pakistan: Rampant Killings of Shia by Extremists". Human Rights Watch. 30 June 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  25. ^ "Country Profile: Pakistan" (PDF). Library of Congress. 2005. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 July 2005. Retrieved 1 September 2023. Religion: The overwhelming majority of the population (96.3 percent) is Muslim, of whom approximately 95 percent are Sunni and 5 percent Shia.
  26. ^ "The World Factbook. Pakistan". CIA. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference NOREF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference ICG-NEoSViP-2022-16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ "Sunni Ittehad Council: Sunni Barelvi activism against Deobandi-Wahhabi terrorism in Pakistan – by Aarish U. Khan". Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTSufivideo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ "Timeline: Persecution of religious minorities". DAWN.COM |. 4 November 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  32. ^ World Report 2012: Pakistan. Human Rights Watch. 22 January 2012. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  33. ^ a b Roul, Animesh (26 June 2015). "Growing Islamic State Influence in Pakistan Fuels Sectarian Violence". Terrorism Monitor. 13 (13). Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  34. ^ "Pakistan's militant Islamic groups". 13 January 2002. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Sipah-e-Muhammad or the Army of Prophet Mohammad is a radical group from the minority Shia sect of
  35. ^ "Pakistan's militant Islamic groups". BBC News. 13 January 2002. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  36. ^ "ATTACKS ON SHIAS IN PAKISTAN, A MESSAGE TO IRAN TOO: INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR—PAPER NO. 674". South Asian Analysis. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  37. ^ "Sectarian Violence in Pakistan: 1989-2018". South Asian Terrorism Portal. Retrieved 27 July 2023.[dead link]


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