shia population in pakistan 2020
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. According to police, the content they posted on Facebook insulted the companions of Mohammed, which, they said, infuriated Sunni Muslims. In July, religious and right-wing parties criticized the governments plan to permit construction of a new Hindu temple in Islamabad. Parents may send children to private schools, including religious schools, at the familys expense. Following Naseems death, there were a series of additional violent incidents targeting Ahmadis, and Ahmadiyya community members said they felt in more danger than ever before. The constitution states no person shall be compelled to pay any special tax for the propagation or maintenance of a religion other than the persons own. In modern times, the split has fostered battles for power and resources. 3. Ahmadi community leaders said they saw the requirement to designate Mohammed as last of the prophets as directly targeting them. The charges carry up to three years imprisonment and a fine. We call upon authorities to ensure the safety of all Pakistanis.. 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 stronghold of Barelvism remains Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan. Because of some limitations in many countries Population of Shia is not clearly known. 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. The main functions of Population Census Wing are as under: 1. Minority rights activists said most government employment advertisements for janitorial staff continued to list being non-Muslim as a requirement. 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. Other NGOs corroborated that 2020 had seen an increase in blasphemy cases. On October 7, Dr. Qibla Ayaz, then chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology, inaugurated a national code of conduct to promote interreligious harmony in the face of increased sectarian violence and mistreatment of religious minorities. NGOs and legal observers also stated police often did not file charges against individuals who made false blasphemy accusations. The 342-member National Assembly has 10 reserved seats for non-Muslims. Shias in Pakistan are geographically spread across the. Legal experts and NGOs continued to state that the full legal framework for minority rights remained unclear. 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. Doha. 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. Speakers at these rallies warned Shia of dire consequences, including beheadings, if they continued to blaspheme against the Prophet Mohammeds companions. Hardcore Sunni groups publicly accused Shia Muslims of orchestrating the attack. The anti-Shia Muslim campaign first began gathering pace on social media in September, demanding that Shia Muslims were declared heretics. In June, the Punjab Provincial Assembly unanimously passed the Curriculum and Text Book Board Amendment Bill, which Governor Chaudhary Muhammad Sarwar signed into law. According to the 2017 census results, the population is 1.6 percent Hindu, 1.6 percent Christian, 0.2 percent Ahmadi Muslim, and 0.3 percent others, to include Bahais, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians. 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. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom, Actions of Foreign Forces and Nonstate Actors, Section III. Government officials condemned the incident, suspended more than 100 police officials for failure to stop the mob, and ordered the temple rebuilt. These attacks targeted gatherings of Shia individuals. Persecution seems to be waiting for the Shia minority, said Hamza Baloch, a founding member of Secular Shia Voices, an advocacy group. Jaffar made his remarks in Arabic, which were then aired on a popular Karachi news station, 24 News HD. On February 7, the district administration returned a century-old Hindu temple to the Hindu community in Zhob, Balochistan. 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. Zaidi. The court acquitted a second Christian in December. Projections 0 100,000,000 200,000,000 300,000,000 400,000,000 Population 235,824,862 Violence has not begun, but its likelihood looms large. U.S. Government Policy and Engagement. According to AsiaNews, once Khan learned the family was Christian, he ordered them to leave immediately, because Christians are enemies of Islam. After harassing the family for a few days, Khan gave them a 24-hour ultimatum to leave. Qatar. Non-Muslims may not appear before the FSC. Page 2 of 41 Preface. July 2021 . The constitution states that no person attending any educational institution shall be required to attend religious instruction or take part in any religious ceremony relating to a religion other than the persons own. 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. 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. 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. 4,465,000. Armed sectarian groups, including Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the once-banned anti-Shia group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), which is connected to other organizations banned by the government as extremist, and groups designated as terrorist organizations by the United States and other governments, continued to stage attacks targeting Shia Muslims, including the predominantly Shia Hazara community. Islamic and minority religious leaders endorsed the code. While they do not constitute a majority in any of Pakistan's four provinces, Shia do form a majority in the Pakistani-controlled autonomous region of Gilgit Baltistan. In the provincial assemblies, there are three such reserved seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; eight in Punjab; nine in Sindh; and three in Balochistan. The high circulation daily Jang also published a lengthy editorial on the struggle to declare Ahmadis as non-Muslims in a special magazine edition. 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. In February, a crowd occupied and vandalized a 100-year-old Ahmadi mosque in Punjab. The attackers relationship to organized terrorist groups was often unclear. It directs the state to endeavor to secure the proper organization of Islamic tithes, religious foundations, and places of worship. 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. According to sources, the Shia population of Pakistan is estimated to be between 10 and 15 percent (Australia 20 Feb. 2019, para. 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. 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. Information Minister Shibli Farazs announcement that the Cabinet had decided against including an Ahmadi Muslim representative on the new commission contributed to a wave of hate speech against Ahmadis, according to community representatives. The court also barred her alleged husband and his family from meeting her and ordered police to arrest those who facilitated the marriage. 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 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. Civil society groups continued to state that the blasphemy laws disproportionately affected members of religious minority communities. On April 14, police filed a blasphemy case against Shia singer Zamin Ali in Jamshoro, Sindh. Ahmadi representatives said the wording of the declaration students were required to sign on their applications for admission to universities continued to prevent Ahmadis from declaring themselves as Muslims. The 16-year-old suspect was being tried as a juvenile; the two coconspirators were a prayer leader and a young lawyer involved in the blasphemy complaint against Naseem. Processing and dissemination of data in the form of Census Reports. On October 10, 1993, the then Central government had announced elected . It threatens to plunge the country into anarchy.. Many have observed that outrage against Shia. The directorate would be empowered to inspect printing presses, bookstores, and publishing houses and confiscate books before or after they are printed if they are judged to contain objectionable content. 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. At first, they used hashtags, then killed us and rallied against us. AsiaNews, the official press agency of the Roman Catholic Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, reported that two members of a Christian family were shot and wounded after buying a house in a neighborhood inhabited primarily by Muslims on June 4 in the Sawati Phatak Colony of Peshawar. Then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs government had granted the land to build the temple in 2016. At the forefront of anti-Shia campaign in Pakistan are two hardline Sunni Muslim groups, Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat (ASWJ) and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). A large portion of . 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. The author of the article wrote that COVID-19 had been hidden since the 1960s to be used against Muslims.. A few Protestant groups conduct missions in Pakistan. 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. In Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provinces, private schools are also required to teach Islamic studies and the Quran to Muslim students. 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom: Pakistan, An official website of the United States Government. 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. 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 Shia community estimates, There are approximate 320 Million to 350 Millions Shia's lives in the world. On October 5, also in Peshawar, Ahmadi professor Naeemuddin Khattak was shot and killed while driving home from work. Representatives of the Bahai community said this policy particularly affected them because the Bahai World Center the spiritual and administrative center of the community was in Haifa, Israel. 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. Both passed the recruitment test and had successful interviews but were denied appointment by the assistant manager. The last census was conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in 2017. On August 30, police charged Shia cleric Taqqi Jaffar with blasphemy for criticizing Mohammeds companions during a Karachi Muharram procession. 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. Although there continued to be no official restriction on the construction of Ahmadiyya places of worship, according to Ahmadiyya Muslim community leaders, local authorities regularly denied requisite construction permits, and Ahmadis remained forbidden to call them mosques. On July 22, the Punjab Provincial Assembly passed the Protection of Foundation of Islam Bill, which prohibits the printing and publication of objectionable material in the province. On September 8, Mehwish Hidayat, a Christian woman, was reunited with her family after being abducted by a Muslim man and spending three months in captivity. February 27, 2023 . The constitution requires the President and Prime Minister to be Muslims. . 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. At the end of the year, CLAAS was planning to take the case to the Federal Ombudsman. The Special Adviser went on to meet with federal and provincial government officials and civil society leaders in Islamabad and Lahore. The name also comes from one of the names of Allah, Al-Wahab, which means the all-giver.. Pakistan's president gives Shias an exemption, but the sectarian confrontation becomes an important political issue in the country. Several hundred protesters led by religious leaders took to the streets and chanted slogans against the alleged blasphemer. It stated that more than 40 cases against religious minorities were registered under the blasphemy laws in August alone. The government continued its warnings against blasphemy and other illegal content on social media through periodic print advertisements and text messages sent by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA). Shia Numbers are in the range of 320 Millions to 350 Millions and according to some estimates its in the range of 400 Millions. By years end, police had dropped the case due to lack of evidence and pressure from activists. According to the governments immigration website, the Ministry of Interior could grant visas to foreign missionaries invited by organizations registered in the country. 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. According to the constitution and the penal code, Ahmadis may not call themselves Muslims or assert they are adherents of Islam. Sunni Muslims who want to distribute zakat themselves may request an exemption, and Shia Muslims are exempted by filling out a declaration of faith form. Then, in the 2018 election, ASWJ and TLP were allowed to run in the election, winning seats in parliament. On July 13, hundreds of members of the Bheel community, including women and children, marched and demonstrated against the demolition of their homes by revenue officials whom they said were in collusion with an influential landlord of the area in Mithi, Sindh. The government of Punjab, the countrys largest province, passed a series of measures against Ahmadi Muslim beliefs. In October, Punjab police arrested three Ahmadis for using Islamic symbols and practices in their mosque. In Pakistan, Shia Muslims make up around 20% of the population, and while the country is tragically home to some of the worst sectarian violence in the world, in 2017 alone 95% of sectarian killings and violence worldwide was focused solely on Shia Muslims. The world's largest population of Shia Muslims outside Iran is found in neighbouring Pakistan where they account for an estimated 15 to 20 per cent of the population. Major cities - population 16.459 million Karachi, 13.095 million Lahore, 3.542 million Faisalabad, 2.281 million Rawalpindi, 2.290 million Gujranwala, 1.164 million ISLAMABAD (capital) (2021) Unofficial estimates vary widely with regard to the size of minority religious groups. Ahmadiyya community members said they were surprised by this instance of a senior government official condemning anti-Ahmadi violence, but added that they do not expect it to become the new norm. 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. An Ahmadi trader in Peshawar was shot near his business on August 12. 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. Prime Minister Imran Khan gave verbal approval to build the temple following a request from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Hindu and Christian members of the National Assembly. In April 2021, Human Rights Watch spoke to one Pakistani Shia man who spent nearly a month in UAE detention and was released and deported in late December 2020. Civil society activists and media reported young Christian and Hindu women being abducted and raped by Muslim men. Two days later, the 21-year-old student found himself the subject of a police report, accused of violating Pakistans draconian laws on blasphemy. On July 27, an antiterrorism court sentenced a member of SSP to 13 years imprisonment for facilitating terrorist activities. And up to 18 million of Pakistan's 74 million jobs may be lost. 1.. Pakistan's current population is estimated at approximately 185 million, of whom approximately 95 percent are Muslim. 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. The CLAAS legal team filed a contempt of court application, but the Lahore High Court dismissed the plea. 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. 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. Some personal laws regulating marriage, divorce, and inheritance for minority communities date from prepartition British legislation. 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 . Unknown assailants shot a Peshawar trader, also an Ahmadiyya community member, near his business on August 12. On July 9, the Sindh High Court ordered that the girl could return to her Hindu parents. On October 20, HRCP reported that an Ismaili Muslim mosque in Ghizer was attacked by unknown assailants, who opened fire on the building. Median age total: 33.7 years male: 33.1 years The information in the following paragraph was provided in a country report on Pakistan by the . Azerbaijan - 65-75% . Hindu community representatives welcomed the decision to return the temple to the community after 70 years. Courts issued two new death sentences for blasphemy and sentenced another individual to five years imprisonment. By one estimate, in Pakistan, the Shias are. The constitution states the government shall make Islamic studies compulsory for all Muslim students in state-run schools. Syed Kareem* has been in hiding for weeks. On December 30, a mob estimated at 1,000 people incited by a cleric attacked an historic Hindu temple site in Karak District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, destroying the shrine of Hindu saint Shri Paramhans Jee Maharaj and an adjacent building under construction. Blasphemy is a capital offence in Pakistan and even unsubstantiated allegations can lead to mob violence and lynchings against the accused. The rallies came after police charged Shia cleric Taqi Jaffar with blasphemy on August 30 for criticizing two companions of Mohammed during a Karachi Muharram procession. According to an unofficial and unverified estimate, between 700 and 5,000 Pakistan Shias from Karachi, Parachinar, and Gilgit-Baltistan, recruited by Iran, went to Syria to fight against the. 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. Among the targets of these attacks were Shia Muslims, particularly the predominantly Shia Hazara community. On October 5, also in Peshawar, Professor Naeemuddin Khattak, a member of the Ahmadiyya community, died after being shot while driving home from work. 1. They represent about 21 per cent of the total Muslim population, the highest number in a country after Iran. In August, a case was opened against three Ahmadi men after an official of a religious seminary approached police complaining that the men sacrificed an animal on Eid al-Adha. The NCHR is also mandated to monitor the governments implementation of human rights and review and propose legislation. Between 1998 and 2017, Pakistan's average population growth rate was 2.40%. Civil society groups continued to express concerns about the safety of religious minorities. Community leaders continued to report that the government hindered Ahmadis from obtaining legal documents and pressured community members to deny their beliefs by requiring individuals wishing to be listed as Muslim on identity cards and passports to swear Mohammed was the final prophet of Islam and the Ahmadiyya movements founder was a false prophet. Several historians argue that the Indian Shia elite played a. Religious community representatives estimate religious groups not identifying as Sunni, Shia, or Ahmadi Muslim constitute 3 to 5 percent of the population. It was the largest anti-Shia march seen in decades in Pakistan, and was copied in other cities including the capital Islamabad. After Iran and India, Pakistan has the world's third-largest Shia community, accounting for ten percent of the total population. 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. Members of this religious group have suffered persecution specifically from Mughal Emperors. The law prohibits publishing any criticism of Islam or its prophets or insults to others religious beliefs. The ministrys budget covers assistance to indigent minorities, repair of minority places of worship, establishment of minority-run small development projects, celebration of minority religious festivals, and provision of scholarships for religious minority students. A local jihadist group and a violent protest movement are driving renewed sectarian strife in Pakistan. According to 1961 Census -- the first in the state after Partition, Muslims constituted 68.3 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir's population. Kuwait (City) The majority of Kuwaiti citizens are Muslim, with an estimated 60-70% Sunni and 30-40% Shia. The penal code does not explicitly criminalize apostasy, but renouncing Islam is widely considered by clerics to be a form of blasphemy, which can carry the death penalty. Following the killing of Tahir Naseem, the Department of State issued a statement expressing outrage over the killing and noting that Naseem had been lured from his home in the United States by individuals who used blasphemy laws to entrap him. Shias account for 15-20% of the Muslim population in Pakistan. Unofficial estimates vary widely with regard to the size of minority religious groups. According to data provided by the Center for Social Justice (CSJ), authorities accused at least 199 individuals of new blasphemy offenses during the year. 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. Hindu Dalits remained vulnerable to human rights violations and pressure by perpetrators to withdraw police cases. Although sectarian data is difficult to pin down in Afghanistan, an estimated 15 to 29 percent of the population is Shia (mostly the Twelver sect that dominates the Islamic Republic, but also some Ismaili Shia). However, the vehement sectarian resurgence began in 2017 when the Pakistani government began making concessions to the extremist Sunni Muslim groups. 2,724,000. The court may suspend or increase the sentence given by a criminal court in these cases. The rallies occurred days after a unanimous resolution by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly condemning anti-Islam statements and the republication in France of the Charlie Hebdo cartoon depictions of the Prophet Mohammed. An additional six Sikh gurdwaras and seven Hindu temples were also reopened after renovation in Punjab. At years end, he was still being held at Camp Jail, Lahore, and had not been charged. The commission also included two Sunni Muslim clerics and senior civil servants from the Ministries of Interior, Law and Justice, Human Rights, Federal Education and Professional Training, Religious Affairs, and the Council of Islamic Ideology. At least 40 cases were registered against Shias in one month 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. 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. Version 3.0 . Targeted killings of Shia and Ahmadi Muslims and violence and discrimination against Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadi Muslims continued to occur. [see also: Population country ranks ] Nationality: In September, unidentified gunmen killed two prominent members of the local Shia community in the Kohat District of that province. . Ahmadiyya community leaders said he was targeted due to his religious beliefs. Some politicians acknowledged privately the bill was intended to ensure textbooks identify Mohammed as the final prophet, thereby excluding Ahmadis from the definition of Islam taught in public schools. The constitution establishes a Council of Islamic Ideology to make recommendations, at the request of the parliament and provincial assemblies, as to the ways and means of enabling and encouraging Muslims to order their lives in accordance with the principles of Islam. The constitution further empowers the council to advise the legislative and executive branches when they choose to refer a question to the council as to whether a proposed law is or is not repugnant to the injunctions of Islam.. At years end, she and her alleged husband had not appeared in court in Karachi, despite multiple court orders to do so. 3.72; Encyclopaedia Britannica 4 Oct. 2019; US 18 Dec. 2019), or "some 17-26 million people" (Encyclopaedia Britannica 4 Oct. 2019). (July 2020 est.) 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 outside Iran. The population of Pakistan in 2020 was 227,196,741, a 1.75% increase from 2019. Persons accused of blasphemy were often simultaneously charged with terrorism offenses. Sunni groups such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba,.