shia population in pakistan 2020

However, violence is inevitable because the anger and anxiety on both sides seem to be mounting. According to the SATP, the number of sectarian attacks by armed groups continued to decrease, corresponding with an overall decline in terrorist attacks. Members of religious minorities, particularly lower-caste Hindus, complained of forceful evictions from their homes and villages by individuals desiring their land with assistance from government officials. Shia and Ahmadi Muslims were the most often accused, accounting respectively for 70 and 20 percent of all cases. 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. Planning and execution of decennial Population & Housing Census. 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 July, religious and right-wing parties criticized the governments plan to permit construction of a new Hindu temple in Islamabad. Users are advised to report such content on content-complaint@pta.gov.pk for action under PECA 16 (the 2016 PECA act)., In a January press release, PTA stated it was proactively playing its role in blocking/removal of unlawful content, with social media platforms being approached in this regard, and it encouraged the public to report such content directly to PTA and avoid sharing it on social media platforms and other websites.. The court ordered police to hand over the woman to her Hindu husband and no police or court action was taken against Domki. Pakistan's blasphemy laws have come under hefty criticism, as. 2,724,000. The constitution reserves seats for non-Muslim members in both the national and provincial assemblies. 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. "No one knew where I was for 21 . 0.5% Shia, and 0.3% Ahmadi. Sunni coalition to demand arrest of Shia clerics in Pakistan. . The attackers relationship to organized terrorist groups was often unclear. The government said Ahmadis could qualify for admission if they did not claim to be Muslims. Violence has not begun, but its likelihood looms large. In Sindh, police provided enhanced security at churches and Hindu temples, especially in Karachi, on eves of festivals such as Christmas and Diwali. The man was later arrested by police after the Sindh education secretary intervened in the case. In May, the Cabinet approved a Religious Affairs Ministry proposal establishing a National Commission for Minorities housed within the ministry. 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. Phillip Smyth. 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. 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). 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. The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony is responsible for organizing participation in the Hajj and other Islamic religious pilgrimages. The statement also called on the government to immediately reform its often abused blasphemy laws and its court system, which allow such abuses to occur, and to ensure that the suspect is prosecuted to the full extent of the law., In an official tweet in November following the killing of Ahmadi physician Tahir Ahmad, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom said the killing was the latest in a series of recent killings targeting the Ahmadiyya community. . Unofficial estimates vary widely with regard to the size of minority religious groups. 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 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom also reported over 600 Shias were killed for their faith between 1999 and 2003. 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 . 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. Three suspects were arrested for the rape but were released on bail, and the girls family said they harassed and pressured the girl to withdraw the case. On February 22, a Christian woman from Lahore fled to a shelter after a Muslim factory worker forced her to convert to Islam and marry him. According to the 2017 Census, Muslims make up 96.2 percent of Pakistan's population, Hindus 1.6 percent, Christians 1.59 percent, Scheduled Castes 0.25 percent, Ahmadis 0.22 percent, and other minorities 0.07 percent. Azerbaijan has the second highest Shia Muslim population in the world accounting for 83.6% of the total population while the sect accounts for 85% of the Muslim population in the country. 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. Now theyre coming up with legislation to eliminate the Shia minority.. 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. A complainant filed a criminal charge against them on May 3, triggering the police investigation. 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. Other NGOs corroborated that 2020 had seen an increase in blasphemy cases. Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of the Islamic Faith, after Sunni Islam, having about 15% of Muslims worldwide. Many social media users celebrated Naseems killing. Coordinator for the Arctic Region, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Office of International Religious Freedom, Office of the Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Office of the Science and Technology Adviser, Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, Bureau of Information Resource Management, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Persons accused of blasphemy were often simultaneously charged with terrorism offenses. For example, in March, media reported that a woman from Meghwar committed suicide after being repeatedly raped by a man of an upper-caste Hindu clan in Deeplo, Sindh. Between 1998 and 2017, Pakistan's average population growth rate was 2.40%. According to sources, the Shia population of Pakistan is estimated to be between 10 and 15 percent (Australia 20 Feb. 2019, para. Following the killing of U.S. citizen Tahir Naseem in July, JUI-F leader Mufti Kifayatullah celebrated the accused killer for his act of justice. Some political figures, including the ruling PTI Partys Sindh provincial president Haleem Adil Sheikh, who is also a member of the Sindh Provincial Assembly, changed their social media profile pictures to that of Naseems killer. Population of males is 106018220 and females is 101344632. 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. Leh's demand for UT status started in 1947 as the old statements of the former parliamentarian and religious leader, Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, indicate. On July 27, an antiterrorism court sentenced a member of SSP to 13 years imprisonment for facilitating terrorist activities. [see also: Population country ranks ] Nationality: Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom, Actions of Foreign Forces and Nonstate Actors, Section III. Most Pakistani Sunni Muslims belong to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, which is represented by the Barelvi and Deobandi traditions. The Sindh Hindu Marriage Act also applies to Sikh marriages. Hindu activists in Sindh reported discrimination against the Hindu community during COVID-19 food-relief efforts by private charities. NGOs lobbying for amendments to permit divorce in a wider range of circumstances praised the Ministry of Human Rights efforts to consult with stakeholders and the ministrys overall efforts to accelerate progress on the bill. There were continued reports that some madrassahs taught violent extremist doctrine, which the government sought to curb through madrassah registration and curriculum reform. According to Pew Research Center, adherents of Shiite Islam in Pakistan make up between 15-20% of the country's total population. 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. 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. Parliament, church leaders, and advocates continued to debate the text of a draft law to govern Christian marriages nationwide, because the existing regulation dated from 1872. NGOs, legal observers and religious minority representatives continued to raise concerns regarding the failure of lower courts to adhere to basic evidentiary standards in blasphemy cases, and the slow pace of adjudicating these cases, which led to some suspects remaining in detention for years as they waited their initial trial or appeals, and to some convicted persons spending years in prison before higher courts overturned their convictions and freed them for lack of evidence. Blasphemy is a capital offence in Pakistan and even unsubstantiated allegations can lead to mob violence and lynchings against the accused. Similar to the previous year, some Sikh and Hindu places of worship reopened during the year. 03 / Select Countries You can add more than one country or area. The government announced it would seek a review from the Council on Islamic Ideology and at the end of the year it was unclear whether it still maintained its support for the temple. The Sunnis, on the other hand, nurse the fear that they have decisively lost power and things . In January, after going missing, a 15-year-old Hindu girl appeared in a video with Ali Raza, a Muslim man, in which the two claimed they had willingly married and she had converted to Islam. 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. These 142 individuals included both Shia and Sunni clerics who in the past had given controversial statements leading to sectarian tensions. RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP via Getty Images January 7, 2020, 12:20. On June 10, police arrested Sajid Soomro, a professor at Shah Abdul Latif University, in Khairpur, Sindh, on blasphemy charges. On September 5, the HRCP expressed concern over the surge in blasphemy cases against religious minorities, particularly the Shia community, and the potential for sectarian violence. The protesters said that when they opposed the illegal evictions of villagers, they were charged in fake cases by revenue officials. The information in the following paragraph was provided in a country report on Pakistan by the . According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), however, the number of sectarian attacks and killings by armed groups decreased compared with previous years, corresponding with a continued overall decline in terrorist attacks. 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. The HRCP said forced conversions of young women of minority faiths, often lower-caste Hindu girls from rural Sindh province, continued to occur. 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. Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom, Section IV. 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. In Islamabad, the deputy inspector general of police said as many as 15,000 police, Rangers, and Frontier Corps personnel were involved. According to eyewitnesses, police officials in at least four police vans cordoned off the area and arrested Soomro, who initially resisted. Unofficial estimates vary widely with regard to the size of minority religious groups. The large-scale presence of these constitution-phobic groups is a clear and present threat to civil and constitutional rule in Pakistan, added Naqvi. Islamist political parties and Punjab Provincial Assembly speaker Chaudhry Elahi (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PTI party) criticized the decision before written approval was issued, however, declaring new temples should never be built in an Islamic country. This issue was discussed at a Webinar on Gilgit-Baltistan or G-B on November 10. Over the past month, Pakistan has seen an unprecedented rise in attacks and arrests of its Shia population, who make up between 15% and 20% of the Sunni-majority country, the largest Shia community outside Iran. Last week, in Punjab, police beat up and arrested 22 Shia Muslims, including seven women, who were taking part in a ceremony to mark a Shia martyr. Police intervened on multiple occasions to quell mob violence directed at individuals accused of blasphemy. The Kuwaiti population consists of 70% foreigners and 30% Kuwaiti. According to civil society reports, there were many individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges, at least 35 of whom had received death sentences, as compared with 82 individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges and 29 who received death sentences in 2019. I fear for myself and my family. With the police on their way to interrogate him, and fearing the violent fate that extremist Sunni groups in Pakistan inflict on those accused of blasphemy, last month Kareem and his family chose to disappear. Methodology for Sunni-Shia Estimates Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life / Mapping the Global Muslim Population At least three top Twitter trends praised the killer and called him the savior and pride of Pakistan. In September, unidentified gunmen killed two prominent members of the local Shia community in the Kohat District of that province. The constitution also grants the FSC revisional jurisdiction (the power to review of its own accord) over criminal cases in the lower courts relating to certain crimes under the Hudood Ordinance, including rape and those linked to Islamic morality, such as extramarital sex, alcohol use, and gambling. The Shia population in Pakistan is estimated as being 11.8% of the country's population. 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. Religious freedom activists and civil society groups said the proposal was toothless and raised concerns regarding the ministrys lack of public consultation, the limited powers of the proposed body, and the fact that Ahmadi Muslims were excluded. 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. Civil society groups continued to express concerns about the safety of religious minorities. 2.4.1 The Shia Muslim population is estimated to be between 20 and 40 million (in . Many have observed that outrage against Shia. [6] As much as 90% of the population follows Sunni Islam. 55-64 years: 9.62% (male 250,653/female 275,670) 65 years and over: 7.96% (male 187,001/female 248,479) (2020 est.) The CLAAS legal team filed a contempt of court application, but the Lahore High Court dismissed the plea. A June 2020 online survey by the Netherlands-based Gamaan Group found 37% of Iranians identifying as Muslims of which 32% are Shia Islam, 5% Sunni Islam and 3% Shia . 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom: Pakistan, An official website of the United States Government. In July, a teenager killed U.S. citizen Tahir Naseem in a Peshawar courtroom, where Naseem was on trial for blasphemy. 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. At least one individual was accused of spreading blasphemous content through social media under PECA. I am being targeted because I am from a Shia religious minority. Shia Numbers are in the range of 320 Millions to 350 Millions and according to some estimates its in the range of 400 Millions. Kuwait (City) The majority of Kuwaiti citizens are Muslim, with an estimated 60-70% Sunni and 30-40% Shia. There is a small myth that Christianity has been existent in Pakistan ever since a few decades after the crucifixion of Jesus . On July 22, Saeed Amanat, a Muslim man, abducted a 15-year-old Christian girl on her way to church in Faisalabad, Punjab. There is no option to state no religion. National identity cards are required for all citizens upon reaching the age of 18. The government continued to prohibit citizens, regardless of religious affiliation, from traveling to Israel. 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 charges carry up to three years imprisonment and a fine. Their families believe they were taken into custody by the intelligence. Community leaders continued to state the government did not take adequate action to protect its poorest citizens, including religious minorities, such as Christian and Hindu Dalits, from bonded labor practices. Ahmadiyya Muslim community representatives continued to state that Ahmadi families were unable to register their marriages with local administrative bodies, known as union councils, since those councils considered Ahmadis to be outside the authority of the Muslim Family Law of 1961. Approximately 80 percent of Shia are "Twelvers" (Shia who recognize 12 imams) and are primarily located in the Eastern Province. Legal observers also reported judges and magistrates often delayed or continued trials indefinitely to avoid confrontation with, or violence from, groups provoking protests. 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. Pakistan ranks number 5 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population. Parents may send children to private schools, including religious schools, at the familys expense. The FSCs review power applies whether the cases involve Muslims or non-Muslims. The resolution stated, This House demands that if the chief of Qadianis [a derogatory term for Ahmadis] submits in writing declaring that they accept the Constitution of Pakistan and accept their status as non-Muslims, then we will have no objection to their inclusion into the Commission.. In February, the National Assembly introduced a draft law requiring internet and technology companies to open offices in Islamabad, locate their servers within the country, and remove objectionable internet content within a specified timeframe.

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