Dr Nauman Naqvi, an associate professor at Habib University in Karachi, said: Since Pakistans economic and political outlook appears increasingly troubled, the ruling power see Sunni majoritarian populism as the only option to secure stability, undercut democratic forces and distract from the grave political and economic crises that hover over Pakistan. Police took him into protective custody and transferred him to a senior police officers office as the mob blocked the Indus Highway and demanded police hand over the alleged blasphemer. While the Ministry of Law and Justice was officially responsible for ensuring the legal rights of all citizens, in practice, the Ministry for Human Rights continued to assume primary responsibility for the protection of the rights of religious minorities. Estimates of the Zikri Muslim community, located in Balochistan, range between 500,000 and 800,000 individuals. Shias living in Pakistani cities increasingly became victim of target killings and the worst ever anti-Shia pogrom took place in Gilgit Baltistan in early 1980s in which radical tribal elements. On October 11, unidentified militants abducted six Shia pilgrims near the Pakistan-Iran border region of Panjgur, in Balochistan. This was part of an increase in anti-Shia activity that month nationwide that included the shooting of a prominent Shia religious leader in Punjabs Mandi Bahauddin District and the shooting of a Shia employee of the National Bank of Pakistan in Islamabad. Throughout the year, unidentified individuals assaulted and killed Shia and Ahmadis in attacks sources believed to be religiously motivated. Qataris are all Muslims and followers of the Sunni Salafi version of Islam. According to regulations, the only factors affecting admission to government schools are students grades and home provinces, although students must declare their religious affiliation on application forms. In addition to addressing a legal gap by providing documentation needed for identity registration, divorce, and inheritance, the Hindu Marriage Acts allow marriages to be voided when consent was obtained by force, coercion, or by fraud. The acts allow for the termination of the marriage upon the conversion of one party to a religion other than Hinduism. This is probably an attempt to contain any outbreak of violence, because Shias in Pakistan are a sizeable minority. The attackers relationship to organized terrorist groups was often unclear. She denied her abductors claim that she had willfully married him and converted to Islam, and instead asked the court to allow her to reunite with her Hindu husband and minor son. Ahmadiyya leaders stated the ambiguous wording of the legal provision forbidding Ahmadis from directly or indirectly identifying themselves as Muslims enabled officials to bring charges against members of the community for using the standard Islamic greeting or for naming their children Mohammed. Political parties elected by the general electorate choose the minority individuals who hold these seats; they are not elected directly by the minority constituencies they represent. Local authorities did not allow the repair or unsealing of Ahmadi mosques damaged or demolished by rioters in previous years. The teacher survived the attack and told media the man had been following and harassing her for days. The Punjab provincial government adopted three anti-Ahmadi measures: in May, a resolution that Ahmadis not be permitted to join the federal governments National Commission for Minorities unless they acknowledge they are not Muslims; in June, a new curriculum law that requires school textbooks to state the finality of the Prophet Mohammed; and in July, the Protection of the Foundations of Islam bill giving the provincial government authority to censor objectionable materials and inspect any publishing house or private home for banned Ahmadi literature. Christian activists also stated young women from their communities were vulnerable to forced conversions. Several hundred protesters led by religious leaders took to the streets and chanted slogans against the alleged blasphemer. 2. 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. In July 2020, Tahaffuz-e-Bunyad-e-Islam (protection of foundation of Islam bill) was passed by the Punjab assembly, which supported only the Sunni interpretation of Islam, provoking a huge . Pakistan has the third largest Shia population after India and Iran. This statistic was all taken from many independent sources for the year 1999. Shia Population Shia by Country (cont.) Shia Muslims 1.1 Demographics. Throughout the year, some government officials and politicians engaged in anti-Ahmadi rhetoric and attended events that Ahmadi Muslims said incited violence against members of their community. According to her parents, the girl had been abducted and raped after being forcibly converted to Islam in Karachi. On January 22, the Hyderabad center hosted an event on educational institutions roles in promoting tolerance and creating peaceful communities. The stronghold of Barelvism remains Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan. On October 19, the PTA lifted the block after the government received reassurances from the company that it would more closely regulate content, but NGOs and activists expressed concern that the government could use this authority to target religious minorities. According to a Punjab government official, Sarwar had no intention of signing the bill until there was a consensus that it would not harm religious minorities. 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. Targeted killings of Shia and Ahmadi Muslims and violence and discrimination against Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadi Muslims continued to occur. The government has never executed anyone specifically for blasphemy. Human rights and religious freedom activists and members of minority religious groups continued to report that they exercised caution and, occasionally, self-censorship when speaking in favor of religious tolerance because of a societal climate of intolerance and fear. The government may use the antiterrorism courts, established as a parallel legal structure under the 1997 Antiterrorism Act, to try cases involving violent crimes, terrorist activities, and acts or speech deemed by the government to foment religious hatred, including blasphemy. According to a 2019 report by Pakistan's National Commission for Human Rights, an independent watchdog, at least 509 Hazara have been murdered for their faith since 2013. Although a sizeable. The blasphemy charges against Jaffar were followed by anti-Shia rallies throughout the country and at least three rallies in Karachi by Sunni groups on September 11 and 13 attended by thousands of individuals. T he most intriguing aspect of Kashmir is the dynamic between the Shia and Sunni communities in the Valley. 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. As well as the 50 who have been charged in the blasphemy crackdown, five have been killed since September and many more Shia families and well-known figures have gone into hiding. Shias are around 20% of the world muslim population. Police also deployed snipers and used closed-circuit television cameras and metal detectors to ensure the security of churches and Christmas markets. On September 30, media reported that a 17-year-old girl from a Hindu Dalit community committed suicide after having been gang-raped a year earlier by Muslim men and subsequently blackmailed by them in Tharparkar, Sindh. There were continued reports that some madrassahs taught violent extremist doctrine, which the government sought to curb through madrassah registration and curriculum reform. Ahmadiyya Muslim community leaders continued to report they were affected by discriminatory and ambiguous legislation and court judgments that denied them basic rights, including a 2018 Islamabad High Court judgment that some government agencies continued to use to deny national identification cards to Ahmadi Muslims. 0.5% Shia, and 0.3% Ahmadi. Sitting by his grave, she tells the story of the day she lost her brother in the attack, a sequence of bomb blasts which killed at least 45 . Several minority rights advocacy groups dispute the provisional results of the 2017 census and state the numbers underrepresent their true population and their political influence, because minority seats in the national and provincial parliaments are allocated based on census figures. Danesh Kumar, the adviser on minority affairs to the Balochistan Chief Minister, said the government had decided to hand over sacred sites of religious minorities in Balochistan to promote interfaith harmony. Speaker of the Punjab Provincial Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) party leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi made numerous statements denouncing Ahmadis and any effort to undermine the status of Mohammed as Islams final prophet. A complainant filed a criminal charge against them on May 3, triggering the police investigation. Other blasphemy cases continued without resolution. The '2019 International Religious Freedom Report,' of the US Department of State, released on June 10, 2020, has voiced concern over the targeted killing in Pakistan of Shia Muslims, including ethnic Hazaras, who are largely Shia, and Ahmadi Muslims in attacks believed to be driven by faith. 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. Similar to the previous year, some Sikh and Hindu places of worship reopened during the year. For example, the Lahore Waste Management Company continued to employ mainly Christian street sweepers, which HRCP criticized as the result of employment advertisements continuing to specify that religious minorities should apply. Two days later, the 21-year-old student found himself the subject of a police report, accused of violating Pakistans draconian laws on blasphemy. The four men were charged with defacing antiquities. It stated that more than 40 cases against religious minorities were registered under the blasphemy laws in August alone. On November 23, the Sindh High Court dissolved the marriage of an underage Christian girl to a 44-year-old Muslim man. The present Christian population in Pakistan is ranged between 2-3 million as per as recent (2020-21) year estimation by various institution and NGOs of Pakistan. In the provincial assemblies, there are three such reserved seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; eight in Punjab; nine in Sindh; and three in Balochistan. Smaller minorities are collectively labelled as 'other'. Version 3.0 . On January 29, an antiterrorism court in Lahore acquitted and ordered the release of 42 individuals accused of participating in the 2015 lynching of two Muslim men in Lahore. Between 1998 and 2017, Pakistan's average population growth rate was 2.40%. ASWJ had previously been banned in Pakistan under the Anti-Terrorism Act before it was lifted in 2018 but is still globally considered a terrorist organisation. Other NGOs corroborated that 2020 had seen an increase in blasphemy cases. This requirement effectively prohibits Ahmadi Muslims from holding elected office, as they recognize a prophet subsequent to Mohammed. By law, decisions of the FSC may be appealed to the Supreme Courts Shariat Appellate Bench. The court ordered the chief executive officer of GEPCO to hire the two Christians, but he did not do so. CLAAS helped both file an antidiscrimination petition in the Lahore High Court. Government officials condemned the incident, suspended more than 100 police officials for failure to stop the mob, and ordered the temple rebuilt. There is no option to state no religion. National identity cards are required for all citizens upon reaching the age of 18. In all these cases, judges repeatedly delayed hearings, adjourned hearings without hearing arguments, or sent appeals to other judicial benches. For 40-year-old Tehseen, Kashif was her whole world. (July 2020 est.) Sanjay Mathrani, a former participant in a U.S. government exchange program, was a featured speaker. Sources vary on the precise breakdown of the Muslim population between Sunni and Shia Muslims. The constant tension between Shia and Sunni has led to the creation of Shia-Specific organizations. The last census was conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in 2017. Population: 233,500,636 (July 2017 est.) Kuwait (City) The majority of Kuwaiti citizens are Muslim, with an estimated 60-70% Sunni and 30-40% Shia. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom, Actions of Foreign Forces and Nonstate Actors, Section III. In January, an antiterrorism court sentenced 86 members of the TLP to 55-year prison terms each for taking part in violent protests following Bibis acquittal. Inflammatory anti-Ahmadi rhetoric continued to exist on social media and was at times spread by senior members of mainstream political parties. 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. The Sunnis, on the other hand, nurse the fear that they have decisively lost power and things . According to 1961 Census -- the first in the state after Partition, Muslims constituted 68.3 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir's population. Shia Muslims also fear their religious freedom is being legislated away. Religious community representatives estimate religious groups not identifying as Sunni, Shia, or Ahmadi Muslim constitute 3 to 5 percent of the population. Police and security forces throughout the country enhanced security measures during religious holidays in consultation with religious leaders. The country is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and maintains two reservations: first, that ICCPR Article 3 regarding equal rights of men and women would be applied as to be in conformity with Personal Law of the citizens and Qanoon-e-Shahadat Order, 1984 (Law of Evidence), under which the in-court testimony of men in certain civil matters pertaining to contracts and financial obligations is given greater weight than that of women; and second, that ICCPR Article 25, on the equal right for citizens to take part in public service, would be subject to articles of the constitution mandating that the President and Prime Minister be Muslims. International and local media, as well as Christian activists, reported that young Christian women, many of them minors, were specifically targeted by Chinese human traffickers because of their poverty and vulnerability. Pakistan's population is expected to surpass that of Indonesia in 2048 when it will reach 331.29 million. It directs the state to endeavor to secure the proper organization of Islamic tithes, religious foundations, and places of worship. In its 2020 World Watch List report, the international NGO Open Doors listed Pakistan, noting that Christians face extreme persecution in every area of their lives, with converts from Islam facing the highest levels. According to Open Doors, all Christians in the country are considered second-class citizens, inferior to Muslims. The NGO stated Christians are often given jobs perceived as low, dirty and dishonorable, and can even be victims of bonded labor. The NGO also said that Christian girls in the country were increasingly at risk of abduction and rape, often forced to marry their attackers and coerced into converting to Islam.. Shias in Pakistan reputedly account for about 20 percent of the population or 42 million out of the population of 210 million making it the second largest Shia population in the world . According to the nonprofit Middle East Media Research Institute, the December edition of the Urdu language TTP magazine Journal of The Tehreek-E-Taliban Pakistan blamed the Jews and their puppets for the COVID-19 pandemic and for harassing Muslims during the pandemic. NGOs expressed concern that authorities often failed to intervene in instances of societal violence against religious minorities due to fear of retaliation, inadequate staff, or apathy. Governor Sarwar did not sign the bill, which was promoted by the PML-Q party, noting controversy about its provisions and concerns that it could be seen as anti-Shia. On June 25, an antiterrorism court sentenced five al-Qaida militants to 16 years imprisonment each for terrorist financing and possession of explosives. The Kuwaiti population consists of 70% foreigners and 30% Kuwaiti. In May, the Cabinet approved a Religious Affairs Ministry proposal establishing a National Commission for Minorities housed within the ministry. At least three top Twitter trends praised the killer and called him the savior and pride of Pakistan. Civil society activists and media reported young Christian and Hindu women being abducted and raped by Muslim men. Syed Kareem* has been in hiding for weeks. The girl remained in a government shelter for several months before returning to her parents. 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. Minority lawmakers and civil society activists reacted strongly to the attack, stating the boys had been instigated by local Muslim clerics. The Special Adviser went on to meet with federal and provincial government officials and civil society leaders in Islamabad and Lahore. The special assistant to the Prime Minister for religious harmony, Tahir Ashrafi, said it was the responsibility of the government and court to punish the perpetrator in a televised interview. The 342-member National Assembly has 10 reserved seats for non-Muslims. The law prohibits publishing any criticism of Islam or its prophets or insults to others religious beliefs. In April, some members of the Hindu community in Karachis Lyari area were denied food packages provided by a local charity, according to local sources. Unofficial estimates vary widely with regard to the size of minority religious groups. Processing and dissemination of data in the form of Census Reports. Shias adhere to the teachings of Islamic prophet Muhammad, but differ from Sunni in following the religious guidance of his family (who are referred to as the Ahl al-Bayt) or his descendants known as Shi'a Imams, whom they consider to be infallible. There were multiple reports of targeted killings of Shia Muslims in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, although because religion and ethnicity were often closely related, it was difficult to categorize some incidents as being solely based on religious identity. Any country in which Muslims make up 50% or more of the population is considered a Muslim majority country. According to the constitution and the penal code, Ahmadis may not call themselves Muslims or assert they are adherents of Islam. Following the July killing of U.S. citizen and self-identified Ahmadi Muslim Tahir Naseem, who was standing trial for blasphemy charges, some political party leaders celebrated the killers actions. . 3.72; Encyclopaedia Britannica 4 Oct. 2019; US 18 Dec. 2019), or "some 17-26 million people" (Encyclopaedia Britannica 4 Oct. 2019). There were reported cases of government intervention and assistance from courts and law enforcement in situations of attempted kidnapping and forced conversion, although enforcement action against alleged perpetrators was rare. Shia Hazaras in Quetta, Balochistan, continued to express concern about targeted killings taking place for the last several years. Then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs government had granted the land to build the temple in 2016. Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom, Section IV. Khattaks brother, who witnessed the killing, named two suspects in his criminal complaint, including a friend of Khattak a lecturer from the University of Agriculture in Peshawar with whom Khattak had had a heated religious argument on October 4. According to the constitution, there shall be no discrimination on the basis of religion in appointing individuals to government service, provided they are otherwise qualified. Mr Haider is one of 140 Pakistani Shias to have "disappeared" over the past two years, according to community activists. Provinces of Pakistan Population Detail Information About Provinces Wise Population Shias, who make up 15 percent of Pakistan's 220 million population, commemorate the seventh-century massacre of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Husayn and his family and friends at the Battle of Karbala in Iraq for refusing . 1. I fear they will kill me, said Kareem, his voice shaking as he spoke from his place of hiding. The FSCs review power applies whether the cases involve Muslims or non-Muslims. Persons accused of blasphemy were often simultaneously charged with terrorism offenses. The Shias live in a state of relief and caution: relief at Article 370 being lifted, and caution that things won't get any better for them. Civil society groups continued to express concerns about the safety of religious minorities. According to civil society and media reports, the government restricted the movement and activities of these individuals because they were known for exacerbating sectarian tensions. These conferences were organized by groups that stated they were defending the teaching that Mohammed is the final prophet but were often characterized by both secular and Ahmadi critics as engaging in hate speech against Ahmadi Muslims. In the same election, ASWJ also threw its influential backing behind 70 candidates from Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which won and formed the government. How many Shia are in India? The traffickers told pastors and parents they would arrange marriages to Chinese men who had supposedly converted to Christianity, after which the women were taken to China, abused, and in some cases, sexually trafficked. All senior officials, including members of parliament, must swear an oath to protect the countrys Islamic identity. In late December, the PTA publicly used this new authority for the first time to demand the removal of sacrilegious content. Doha. Median age total: 33.7 years male: 33.1 years Twitter and WhatsApp users circulated graphic images and video footage from the courtroom, depicting Naseem slumped over a chair and crowds of men ignoring the body and seeming to congratulate the killer. In November, the government finalized its Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content Rules 2020, which sought to codify the PTAs authority to regulate content the government deemed unlawful. The rules not only enhanced the PTAs ability to compel online content platforms such as Facebook, Googles YouTube, Twitter, and Wikipedia to remove content but also extended the regulators purview to include local internet service providers that could also be held liable for such content. . Shias account for 15-20% of the Muslim population in Pakistan. According to 2017 census total house hold in Pakistan are 32205111. On October 13, according to local media reports, Reeta Kumari, a pregnant Dalit Hindu woman, told the Sindh High Court in Sukkur that she had been abducted by a Muslim man, Rafique Domki, in Islamkot. Violence has not begun, but its likelihood looms large. Ayaz also spoke at a seminar on interfaith harmony at the cultural center at the National Library of Pakistan in Islamabad. The bill would also require the words last of the prophets to be written after the name of Mohammed and specific honors for his companions revered in the Shia community (may Allah be pleased with them, rather than peace be upon them). The constitution defines Muslim as a person who believes in the unity and oneness of Almighty Allah, in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Mohammed the last of the prophets, and does not believe in, or recognize as a prophet or religious reformer, any person who claimed or claims to be a prophet after Mohammed. It also states that a person belonging to the Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, or Parsi community, a person of the Qadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves Ahmadis), or a Bahai, and a person belonging to any of the scheduled castes is a non-Muslim.. Despite these problems some international organizations have researched and reported some statistics. The non-Pakhtun population of Pakistan is predominantly Barelvi. The court acquitted a second Christian in December. Authorities provided enhanced security for Shia Muslim, Christian, and Hindu places of worship at various times throughout the year, including around particular religious holidays or in response to specific threats. At least one individual was accused of spreading blasphemous content through social media under PECA. The five wafaqs each represent major streams of Islamic thought in the country: Barelvi, Deobandi, Shia, Ahle Hadith, and the Jamaat-i-Islami, which is considered ultraconservative. Hindus formed 28.45 per cent. According to police, the content they posted on Facebook insulted the companions of Mohammed, which, they said, infuriated Sunni Muslims. In September, several religious groups from the Deobandi and Barelvi schools of Sunni Islam organized a series of rallies in Karachi to denounce Shia defamation of revered Sunni religious figures. Shia leaders, meanwhile, denounced the specific honors prescribed by the bill to Mohammeds companions, which they said risked stoking discord between Shia and Sunnis, given their fundamental disagreements over some of the companions status within Islam. The National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR), an independent government-funded agency that reports to parliament, is required to receive petitions, conduct investigations, and request remediation of human rights abuses. Minority rights activists criticized these advertisements as discriminatory and insulting. In July, the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) demanded that the federal interior ministry prevent the Ahmadi community from sacrificing animals on Eid al-Adha. The HRCP said forced conversions of young women of minority faiths, often lower-caste Hindu girls from rural Sindh province, continued to occur. Students who identify themselves as Muslims must declare in writing they believe Mohammed is the final prophet. (Goyal, 2020) There has been an even greater decline in major cities with historically large Hindu populations. 1 These two groups have been at odds for centuries. In May, Daniel Masih appealed to the court in the Sargodha District of Punjab, urging authorities to rescue his brother Bashir and his family from bonded labor under a Muslim landlord. Victims said their attackers singled them out as vulnerable due to their religious minority identity. An Ahmadi trader in Peshawar was shot near his business on August 12. Now theyre coming up with legislation to eliminate the Shia minority.. Because of some limitations in many countries Population of Shia is not clearly known. Her family said she had been kidnapped and forcibly converted. The constitution establishes a Federal Shariat Court (FSC) composed of Muslim judges to examine and decide whether any law or provision is repugnant to the injunctions of Islam. The constitution gives the FSC the power to examine a law of its own accord or at the request of the government or a private citizen. Taking into account the Ahmadi boycott of the official census, however, community sources put the number of Ahmadi Muslims at approximately 500,000 to 600,000. Azerbaijan - 65-75% . 2.4.1 The Shia Muslim population is estimated to be between 20 and 40 million (in . This declaration is also required for private educational institutions, including universities. According to the bill, all publishers would be required to submit to the Directorate General Public Relations, the provincial government authority with jurisdiction over printing presses and publishing houses, four copies of every edition of each title they print. According to Shia community estimates, There are approximate 320 Million to 350 Millions Shia's lives in the world. His ordeal began with a Facebook post in early September, where he condemned the killers of a Shia Muslim martyred centuries ago. rate of urbanization: 2.1% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) In July, religious and right-wing parties criticized the governments plan to permit construction of a new Hindu temple in Islamabad. Embassy officers met with civil society leaders, experts, and journalists to stress the need to protect the rights of religious minorities and to continue to support measures that decrease sectarian violence. Those wishing to be listed as Muslims must swear they believe Mohammed is the final prophet and must denounce the Ahmadiyya movements founder as a false prophet and his followers as non-Muslim. It is important to remember that Shia have a high birth rate since their religion allows adultery (Mut'a). In addition to the large JUI-F conference and rallies, the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami also held a large event in September in Peshawar; both parties criticized the PTI-led national government for failing to enforce Islamic law. On October 22, a private business school, the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi, cancelled an online seminar that was to feature U.S.-based Ahmadi economist Dr Atif Mian, citing pressure by extremists.. The embassy and consulates highlighted the principles of religious freedom and examples of interfaith dialogue in the United States on their social media platforms throughout the year.
Frank Kramer Klos Net Worth,
Fatal Car Accident, Colorado Today,
Articles S