my2cents
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Over 4,000 Shias killed in 8 years in Pakistan's sectarian violence: Report
The ICG report, published in early September this year, pointed out that these new groups, though different in many ways, were responsible for some of the country's worst inter-communal bloodshed in recent years.
The report warned that "Muslim minorities, particularly Shias, are deeply vulnerable. Vigilantism is dangerous as hardliners mobilise around allegations of blasphemy to gain political clout."
The origin of Sunni militancy can be traced to the Sunni-Shia tension in Pakistan immediately after the independence. Many Deobandi clerics called for attacks on Shia processions and wrote against Shias in books and tracts, reported IFFRAS.
In 2020, well-known defence analyst, Dr Ayesha Siddiqa wrote about the revival of sectarian tension between Sunnis and Shias in Karachi and other urban centres in Sindh and Punjab. She pointed out that Pakistan has reportedly witnessed the killing of approximately 4,847 Shias in incidents of sectarian violence between 2001 and 2018, IFFRAS had reported earlier.
During President Zia-ul Haq's tenure, Sunni militancy came to the fore with the army actively supporting a rabidly anti-Shia group called Anjuman Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan.
The ICG report, published in early September this year, pointed out that these new groups, though different in many ways, were responsible for some of the country's worst inter-communal bloodshed in recent years.
The report warned that "Muslim minorities, particularly Shias, are deeply vulnerable. Vigilantism is dangerous as hardliners mobilise around allegations of blasphemy to gain political clout."
The origin of Sunni militancy can be traced to the Sunni-Shia tension in Pakistan immediately after the independence. Many Deobandi clerics called for attacks on Shia processions and wrote against Shias in books and tracts, reported IFFRAS.
In 2020, well-known defence analyst, Dr Ayesha Siddiqa wrote about the revival of sectarian tension between Sunnis and Shias in Karachi and other urban centres in Sindh and Punjab. She pointed out that Pakistan has reportedly witnessed the killing of approximately 4,847 Shias in incidents of sectarian violence between 2001 and 2018, IFFRAS had reported earlier.
During President Zia-ul Haq's tenure, Sunni militancy came to the fore with the army actively supporting a rabidly anti-Shia group called Anjuman Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan.
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