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 statement also called on the government to reform its blasphemy laws and court system and to ensure that the suspect in Naseems killing be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. There continued to be reports of attacks on holy places, cemeteries, and religious symbols of Hindu, Christian, and Ahmadiyya minorities. 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. Pakistan's Perpetual Shia Shame - Globalpoliticsnews There are large numbers of Shia's lives in India,Pakistan, Syria, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arab. 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.. Population of Pakistan Total Population of Provinces Wise UAE: Arbitrary Targeting of Pakistani Shia Residents 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. 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. However, violence is inevitable because the anger and anxiety on both sides seem to be mounting. The Shia population is around 20 per cent of the total population of Pakistan. The population of Pakistan in 2020 was 227,196,741, a 1.75% increase from 2019. Other NGOs also said that 2020 had seen an increase in blasphemy cases. The government of Punjab, the countrys largest province, passed a series of measures against Ahmadi Muslim beliefs. According to the provisional results of a national census conducted in 2017 (the most recent), 96 percent of the population is Sunni or Shia Muslim. by Senge Sering in Baltimore Post Examiner, Feb 27, 2023 The writer is the President of Gilgit Baltistan Institute in Washington D.C. After Iran and India, Pakistan has the world's third-largest Shia community, accounting for ten percent of the total population. The year 2020 saw a rise in blasphemy charges - at least 199 people were charged, of which 70% were Shia Muslims. 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 January 21, the center in Khairpur hosted a Religious Freedom Day event at which 25 students discussed the importance of being able to practice religion freely in Pakistan. In April, police arrested Ramzan Bibi, an Ahmadi Muslim woman, after a neighbor accused her of blasphemy against Mohammed a crime that carries the death penalty in an argument over Bibis charitable donation to a non-Ahmadi mosque. Christian activists also stated young women from their communities were vulnerable to forced conversions. The constitution mandates that the government take steps to enable Muslims, individually and collectively, to order their lives in accordance with the fundamental principles and basic concepts of Islam and to promote the observance of Islamic moral standards. According to some estimates, the Barelvi school of . The court may suspend or increase the sentence given by a criminal court in these cases. The Rising Threat Against Shia Muslims in Pakistan - The Wire Population of males is 106018220 and females is 101344632. The court acquitted a second Christian in December. 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. Multiple civil society groups and faith community leaders stated the government had increased efforts to provide enhanced security at religious minority places of worship, which had been frequent targets of attack in past years. On June 10, police arrested Sajid Soomro, a professor at Shah Abdul Latif University, in Khairpur, Sindh, on blasphemy charges. The HRCP reported that more than 40 such cases were registered under the blasphemy laws in August alone. Targeted killings of Shia and Ahmadi Muslims and violence and discrimination against Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadi Muslims continued to occur. On July 19, members of the Hindu community staged a sit-in in Khuzdar, Balochistan, to protest the July 18 killing of local Hindu trader Nanak Ram by unidentified assailants in the Wadh area of Khuzdar District. The non-Pakhtun population of Pakistan is predominantly Barelvi. 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. In September, unidentified gunmen killed two prominent members of the local Shia community in the Kohat District of that province. On April 14, police filed a blasphemy case against Shia singer Zamin Ali in Jamshoro, Sindh. Hardcore Sunni groups publicly accused Shia Muslims of orchestrating the attack. He fears if he is seen on the streets of Karachi, the Pakistan city he calls home, he will be a dead man walking. The two major powers in the Middle East are Saudi Arabia, an Arab population ruled by a Sunni majority, and Iran, a Persian population ruled by a Shia majority. Pakistan (212,300,000) India (200,000,000) Bangladesh . The plan followed a 2014 Supreme Court decision that ordered the government to take steps to ensure the rights of minorities and promote a culture of religious and social tolerance, but religious freedom activists and civil society groups said the proposal was toothless and raised concerns regarding the Religious Affairs Ministrys lack of public consultation, the limited powers of the proposed body, and the ultimate decision to exclude Ahmadis. 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). According to religious minority activists, provincial governments also often failed to meet quotas for hiring religious minorities into the civil service. The NCHR is also mandated to monitor the governments implementation of human rights and review and propose legislation. The young man and two coconspirators were indicted, taken into government custody, and were awaiting trial at years end. 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 the provincial assemblies, there are three such reserved seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; eight in Punjab; nine in Sindh; and three in Balochistan. 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. Authorities also consult the ministry on matters such as blasphemy and Islamic education. Although the government continued to implement elevated security measures around Hazara neighborhoods in Quetta, some Hazara community members continued to state that these measures had turned their neighborhoods into isolated ghettos. Civil society representatives said the bill targets Ahmadis, who do not have representation on the ulema board and who are barred by the constitution and the penal code from identifying as Muslims. Non-Muslims may not appear before the FSC. The law requires elected Muslim officials to swear an oath affirming their belief that Mohammed is the final prophet of Islam. Pakistan: Rampant Killings of Shia by Extremists To seek office, Ahmadis would be forced to do so because by law they are considered non-Muslims, even though they self-identify as Muslim. In a September editorial, the largest Urdu daily, Nawa-i-Waqt, described the 1974 legislation declaring Ahmadis officially non-Muslim as a historic day in the countrys history. The Special Adviser went on to meet with federal and provincial government officials and civil society leaders in Islamabad and Lahore. Among the restrictions outlined in the bill, publishers, editors, and translators would be barred from printing or publishing any book and material containing statements or anything deemed to be of a blasphemous nature. Analysis of census data and demographic research. On October 10, 1993, the then Central government had announced elected . The text messages stated, Sharing of blasphemy, pornography, terrorism, and other unlawful content on social media and the internet is illegal. 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. 11 Countries with Highest Shia Population - Insider Monkey Leaders in other NGOs agreed the actual number of blasphemy cases was likely higher, but uneven reporting and lack of media coverage in many areas made it difficult to identify an exact number. According to representatives of some minority religious groups, the government continued to allow most organized religious groups to establish places of worship and train members of the clergy. Editorial note: This project covers the period through 2019. . Police arrested more than 45 JUI-F followers and clerics involved in the destruction. According to Shia community estimates, There are approximate 320 Million to 350 Millions Shia's lives in the world. 2.4.1 The Shia Muslim population is estimated to be between 20 and 40 million (in . The Charge dAffaires, consuls general, other embassy officers, and visiting senior U.S. officials engaged government officials and senior advisors to the Prime Minister, including the Minister for Human Rights, and officials from the Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, and Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony to discuss blasphemy law reform; laws concerning Ahmadi Muslims; the need to better protect members of religious minority communities; sectarian relations; and religious respect. Ayaz also spoke at a seminar on interfaith harmony at the cultural center at the National Library of Pakistan in Islamabad. note: provisional results of Pakistan's 2017 national census estimate the country's total population to be 207,774,000. country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 5. The Punjab Provincial Assembly also unanimously passed a resolution in May insisting that the federal National Commission on Minorities not include a representative from the Ahmadi community until community leaders submitted in writing that they accepted their status as non-Muslims under the constitution. The constitution states the government shall make Islamic studies compulsory for all Muslim students in state-run schools. In a recent study conducted by the Law and Society Alliance, a New Delhi-based think tank headed by N.C. Bipindra, the population of G-B is now approximately 1.5 million, with around 39 per cent Shia, 27 per cent Sunni, 18 per cent Ismaili and 16 per cent Nurbakhshi. They also met with representatives of other embassies, leaders of religious communities, NGOs, and legal experts working on religious freedom issues to discuss ways to increase respect among religions and to enhance dialogue. NEW DELHI: Successive Pakistan governments under the garb of development have undertaken an exercise to change demographic composition of Gilgit Baltistan and local Shia population has been reduced to less than 50 per cent compared to 1948. The Sindh provincial cabinet adopted regulations to implement the Sindh Hindu Marriage Act in December 2019, which provided more specific rules for implementation. In May, after the government announced that Ahmadis would be excluded from the National Commission for Minorities, Religious Affairs Minister Qadri said on a popular television show, Anyone supporting Ahmadis is not a Muslim. Ahmadiyya Muslim community representatives stated that the Urdu-language press frequently printed hate speech in news stories and editorials, some of which could be considered as inciting anti-Ahmadi violence. Shia and Ahmadi Muslims were the most often accused, accounting respectively for 70 and 20 percent of all cases. The wafaqs operate through an umbrella group, Ittehad-e-Tanzeemat-e-Madaris Pakistan, to represent their interests to the government. In July, 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 backlash from the Shia community. 2022 population pyramid Dependency ratios total dependency ratio: 59.3 youth dependency ratio: 44 elderly dependency ratio: 15.3 potential support ratio: 6.5 (2021 est.) The womans mother filed a police report against the abductor, who was subsequently arrested. By law, madrassahs are prohibited from teaching or encouraging sectarian or religious hatred or violence. Kuwait (City) The majority of Kuwaiti citizens are Muslim, with an estimated 60-70% Sunni and 30-40% Shia. 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.
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