Timeline_ Persecution of Religious Minorities - In-Depth - DAWN

6/28/2015 Timeline:PersecutionofreligiousminoritiesIndepthDAWN.COM

http://www.dawn.com/news/761507/timelinepersecutionofreligiousminorities 1/12

Timeline: Persecution ofreligious minoritiesDAWN.COM PUBLISHED NOV 04, 2012 11:36AM

File Photo

Religious persecution in Pakistan is not uncommon inPakistan; however, year 2011 and 2012 witnessed markedincrease in the attacks against minorities especiallyMuslim minorities. According to a report published byHuman Rights Watch , summarising the incidents relatedto human rights violation in Pakistan stated that 2011 wasdisastrous for Pakistan during which religiousminorities faced unprecedented insecurity and persecutionin the country. The seeds of religious disharmony weresown in the 1970s which initially targeted only Ahmadis,however, the scope of religious persecution widened



however, the scope of religious persecution widenedgreatly over the period of decades led byfundamentalists elements in the society and nowincludes people from Shia and Bohra communities otherthan Christians and Hindus.

Ironic as it may sound but the historical trend clearlysignifies that Shias of Pakistan have been targeted morewith Ahmadis closely trailing behind, followed by peopleprofessing other religions.

Dawn.com presents an exclusive timeline of all the majorincidents entailing religious persecution witnessed inPakistan.

1988: A dispute arising on the grounds of sighting Eidmoon triggered violent sectarian attacks in Gilgit-Baltistan. A group of people representing Sunni Lashkarcomprising hundreds of people from differentnorthwestern Pakistani cities united against Shias.

The ensuing violence claimed many lives , mostly thoseof Shia Muslims, villages were ransacked and torched downand the livestock was slaughtered.

June 26, 1991: Unidentified assailants slaughtered 13members of a Shia family in Islampura. The killedincluded women and children.

April 1995: Two members of Ahmadiyya communitywere stoned to death in what then was known as NorthWest Frontier Province of Pakistan in the area of ShabQadar.



The body of one of the victims was stripped and dragged allacross the city whereas the police allegedly stood andwatched the massacre.

1997: Twelve members of a Shia family were killed during aMajlis in 1997. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) leader Malik Ishaqwas arrested, however, was released later due to lack ofevidence.

The same year, Malik Ishaq was alleged to have bombedthe Iranian culture centre in Multan claiming eight lives.

Moreover, in July of 1997 four women and childrenbelonging to Shia sect were shot dead in Samanabad.

October 2000: Unknown assailants opened fire at theprayer meeting of an Ahmadi mosque in a village locatednear Sialkot killing at least five worshippers.

Ten days later another five Ahmadis were gunned downwhilst they were praying in Takht-Hazari a villagelocated 30 miles away from Sargodha.

In October 2000, seven Shia Muslims including threewomen were killed in Faisal Town of Lahore.

February 26, 2002: At least 11 Shia Muslims were killed byindiscriminate firing by a group of masked gunmen atthe Shah-i-Najaf Mosque in Rawalpindi.

March 2002 : Assailants allegedly associated with SunniTehrik assassinated Prof Ataur Rehman and a caretaker ofan Imam Bargah who tried to intervene whilst the assassinwere escaping the crime scene.



May 7, 2002 : Renowned religious scholar Prof Dr GhulamMurtaza Malik, his driver and a policeman were shot deadby two gunmen who claimed to be associated with SunniTehrik.

June 8, 2003: Eleven Hazara Shia police trainees were shotdead in a sectarian attack on Sariab Road located in Quetta.On the same day, twelve Shia Hazara police cadets weregunned downed in Quetta.

July 4, 2003 At least 47 people were killed and 150 injuredin an attack on an Imambargah in Quetta.

September 24, 2003: Eight people belonging to Shia sectwere murdered in Allama Iqbal Town of Lahore. Thedeceased included women and children.

February 28, 2004: An alleged suicide bomber was killedwhereas and three worshipers were injured in an attack onan Imambargah in located in Satellite Town ofRawalpindi.

March 2, 2004: An estimated number of 50 people losttheir lives and more than 100 were reportedly woundedwhen a procession led by Shia Muslims on the revered dayof Ashura was attacked in Liaquat Bazaar of Quetta.

May 14, 2004: Six members of Shia family including twowomen and a baby girl were shot dead in MughalpuraLahore. The family was tied to chairs and then shot in thehead.

May 30, 2004: A senior Deobandi religious scholar andhead of Islamic religious school Jamia Binoria, Mufti



head of Islamic religious school Jamia Binoria, MuftiNizamuddin Shamzai, was gunned down in his car whileleaving his home in Karachi.

Soon after the attacked the city was engulfed in violence inwhich eight policemen were reportedly injured.

May 31, 2004: A suicide bomber blew up the ImambarghahAli Raza mosque in Karachi in the middle of eveningprayers, killing 16 worshipers and injuring 35. Two peoplewere killed in riots over the mosque attack and Shamzaisassassination.

Soon after the suicide blast, the city was attacked byarmed assailants who torched an American restaurant andkilled at least a dozen civilians.

September 21, 2004: Three members of Shia family weregunned down in Dera Ismail Khan. It was alleged Sipah-e-Sahaba members were involved in the killings.

October 1, 2004: A suicide bombing left 25 people dead anddozen injured at an Imambargah in Sialkot .

October 7, 2004: A bomb blast left 40 people dead andwounded over 100 during a Sunni (Deobandi) rally tocommemorate Maulana Azam Tariq assassinated leaderof Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan in Multan.

October 10, 2004: A suicide bombing at Hussainia HallMosque in Lahore killed four and injured eight people.

January 8, 2005 : Renowned Shia cleric called AghaZiauddin was ambushed and killed by unidentifiedgunmen in Gilgit. It is widely alleged that his assassination



gunmen in Gilgit. It is widely alleged that his assassinationgave rise to major sectarian disharmony in the region.

March 19, 2005: At least 35 people were killed and manyinjured when a suicide bomber exploded himself at theshrine of Pir Rakhel Shah in remote village of Fatehpurlocated in Jhal Magsi District of Balochistan. The deadincluded Shia and Deobandi devotees.

May 27, 2005: A suicide bomber killed at least 43 andwounded 82 people at the annual Shia Muslimscongregation at the shrine of Bari Imam in Islamabad.

October 7, 2005: An attack at an Ahmadi place ofworship in Mandi Bahauddin killed eight and injured 20people.

September 2008: Three members of Ahmaddiyacommunity were murdered after a private TV channelaired a religious programme enticing people to killAhmadis declaring them wajib-ul-qatal.

February 20, 2009: At least nine people were killed andmore than 43 injured when a suicide bomber attacked afuneral procession in Dera Ismail Khan. Just before thefuneral Nazir Hussain, mohtamim of Imambargah MehtabBibi Mohallah Hatullah, was gunned down in front of hishouse.

The attack was alleged a sectarian attack.

April 5, 2009: A suicide bomber detonated outside theentrance of an Imambargah in Chakwal , in Punjabprovince. The attack claimed 24 lives whereas 140 werereported to be injured.



reported to be injured.

December 28, 2009: At least 30 Shia Muslims were killedand dozens injured in an apparent suicide bombing at anAshura procession in Karachi.

Soon after the attack , angry protestors ransackedadjoining markets and later set them ablaze costingbusiness community billions of rupees.

April 2010: Three Ahmadis were killed in Faisalabad whenunidentified assailants ambushed their car. Victims wereimmediately transported to the hospital where all of themwere pronounced dead .

May 28, 2010: In perfectly synchronized and coordinatedattacks, at least 86 people were killed and more than 120injured in two places of worship of Ahmadiya community.Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed the responsibility forthe targeted attacks .

May 30, 2010: An Ahmadi man and his son were stabbedto death by an unknown assailant in Narowal.

September 1, 2010: At least 25 people were killed and over150 injured after three bombs ripped through the city ofLahore. The bombs exploded during a procession organisedby Shia Muslims.

Soon after the attacks , several incidents of violence werereported in the outskirts of the provincial capital wherepolice vans and stations were vandalized and set ablaze.

September 3, 2010: Attack on a rally in Quetta killed atleast 53 and injured over 100 people during a procession



least 53 and injured over 100 people during a processionorganised by Shia Muslims to show solidarity withPalestinians.

On the same day, a bomb attack targeting Baitul Zikkar inMardan claimed one life and injured at least three otherAhmadis.

December 9, 2010: A mortar attack killed at least six andinjured eight people in the Northwestern part of Pakistan.The attack came on the revered day of Ashuracommemorated widely by Shia Muslims.

December 13, 2010: At least one person was killed and twochildren injured when a bomb struck a school bus inBhana Marri area located in the outskirts of Peshawar. Theattack was alleged sectarian as it came during the month ofMoharram.

January 25, 2011: Two suicide blasts targeted Shiaprocessions in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore as wellas the major southern port city of Karachi. At least 15people were killed in the attacks.

May 6, 2011: At least six Shia Muslims were killed and 10others were reportedly injured when unidentified gunmenfired rockets and sprayed bullets at a ground adjacent tothe Hazara graveyard.

May 18, 2011: Seven more Shia Muslims were gunned downin Quetta.

September 20, 2011: Unidentified gunmen shot dead 29Pakistani Shia pilgrims travelling to Iran. In a brutal



assault, gunmen ordered pilgrims off their bus, lined themup and assassinated them in a hail of gunfire in Mastung.

February 28, 2012: Eighteen Shia Muslims were killed inChilas whilst they were on their way to Gilgit-Baltistanfrom Rawalpindi.

April 3, 2012: A mob dragged nine Shia Muslims frombuses and shot them dead in the town of Chilas.

June 3, 2012: A Shia Muslim belonging to Hazaracommunity was gunned down and another was injuredwhen unidentified assailants opened fire on the victims atSariab Road located in Quetta.

August 16, 2012: Twenty-five Shia Muslims were killed inattack on the bus en route to Gilgit-baltistan inManshera district. The passengers were asked to presenttheir identification cards and Shias were targeted and lateron killed.

August 17, 2012: A bomb struck a bus taking ShiaMuslims to a protest rally near Karachis Safari Park onUniversity Road, killing one man and wounding 11 others.

August 27, 2012: Three people of the Hazara communitywere shot dead when their taxi was ambushed by armedassailants at Spiny Road in Quetta.

August 31, 2012: Additional districts and session judgeZulfiqar Naqvi was shot dead in Quetta. The deceased wasen route to his office when his car was ambushed byunidentified assailants.

September 10, 2012: A car bomb ripped through a



September 10, 2012: A car bomb ripped through acrowded market in Parachinar bordering Afghanistankilling 12 Shia Muslims.

September 18, 2012: At least seven people including aninfant, a young girl and woman were killed and 22 injuredwhen twin bombs exploded at North Nazimabad inKarachi. The attack predominantly targeted the BohraCommunity of the city and was considered as the firstattack against the Muslim minority.

On the same day, a bomb ripped through a passengerbus in Mastung carrying Shia Muslim pilgrims killing atleast three and injuring almost a dozen passengers.

Over the passage of years, hordes of people have migratedto other countries in hopes to live a violence-free life.

October 2012:

Four Hazara men were shot dead in an attack on a scrapshop. Men on motorcycles opened fire on the shop inKabarhi Market on Sirki Road and fled after killing Ata Ali,Muhammad Ibrahim, Ghulam Ali and Syed Awiz.

November 6, 2012:

At least five people, including religious leader Agha AftabHaider Jaffery, were shot dead in Karachi. nidentifiedgunmen killed two men at the New M A Jinnah road nearthe parking plaza in Saddar. The deceased were identifiedas Agha Aftab Haider Jaffery and Shahid Ali.

November 24, 2012:



A bomb blast killed eight people Saturday near aMuharram procession in Khyber Pakhtunkhwas DeraIsmail Khan district despite a security crackdown. Fourboys were among the dead and 30 other people wereinjured when the remote-controlled bomb packed withball bearings exploded on the outskirts of Dera IsmailKhan.

January 9, 2013:

Gunmen shot dead a Shia Muslim doctor associated withthe main ruling PPP in Peshawar. Riaz Hussain waspresident of the PPP branch in Kurram, one of seven semi-autonomous districts that make up the tribal belt on theAfghan border where the Taliban and al Qaeda havestrongholds.

He was killed as he left his clinic in the Dabgari area ofPeshawar and police suggested it was a targeted, sectariankilling.

January 10, 2013:

As many as 81 people were killed and 121 injured in suicideand car bomb blasts in Quettas Alamdar Road area. Earlierin the afternoon, 12 people lost their lives when a bombwent off near a vehicle of the Frontier Corps at Bacha KhanChowk.

A cameraman and a reporter of a private news channel, acomputer operator of a news agency and nine policepersonnel, including two senior police officers, wereamong the dead, while 10 army and FC personnel were



injured in the blasts.

A majority of the people killed in the Alamdar Road blastsbelonged to the Hazara Shia community.

Email news tips and feedback to News Desk, submit blogs to Blog Desk and share photos andVideos with Special Projects Desk.

Documents

Timeline_ Persecution of Religious Minorities - In-Depth - DAWN