shia population in pakistan 2020
Smaller minorities are collectively labelled as 'other'. On August 24, the Karachi center hosted a talk entitled, How to Develop Religious Tolerance and Empathy, with Syed Ali Hameed from the Shaoor Foundation and a consulate general officer. Speakers at these rallies warned Shia of dire consequences, including beheadings, if they continued to blaspheme against the Prophet Mohammeds companions. Non-Muslims are required to have the head of their local religious communities verify their religious affiliation. Sanjay Mathrani, a former participant in a U.S. government exchange program, was a featured speaker. Police arrested several members of a neighboring Muslim family in connection with the incident. The constitution states this requirement shall not affect the personal laws of non-Muslim citizens or their status as citizens. By one estimate, in Pakistan, the Shias are. Authorities also consult the ministry on matters such as blasphemy and Islamic education. Under the 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony is responsible for reviewing internet traffic and reporting blasphemous or offensive content to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority for possible removal or to the Federal Investigative Agency for possible criminal prosecution. When he and his sons returned to the house, they shot and wounded two of the Christian family members. After Iran and India, Pakistan has the world's third-largest Shia community, accounting for ten percent of the total population. Minority religious leaders stated members of their communities continued to experience discrimination in admission to colleges and universities. Speaker of the Punjab Provincial Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) party leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi made numerous statements denouncing Ahmadis and any effort to undermine the status of Mohammed as Islams final prophet. Department of State programs, including outreach activities such as speakers and workshops, helped to promote peacebuilding among religious and community leaders. Pakistan is said to have a Shia population of at least 16 million, like India. 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. Unofficial estimates vary widely with regard to the size of minority religious groups. Population of Pakistan (2020) View live population, charts & trends: Population of Pakistan Pakistan Population 220,892,340 see live Yearly Change + 2.00 % Global Share 2.81 % Global Rank 5 Fertility in Pakistan According to a 2019 report by Pakistan's National Commission for Human Rights, an independent watchdog, at least 509 Hazara have been murdered for their faith since 2013. At the end of the year, CLAAS was planning to take the case to the Federal Ombudsman. The large-scale presence of these constitution-phobic groups is a clear and present threat to civil and constitutional rule in Pakistan, added Naqvi. 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.. According to Shia community estimates, There are approximate 320 Million to 350 Millions Shia's lives in the world. Some personal laws regulating marriage, divorce, and inheritance for minority communities date from prepartition British legislation. While schools were required to teach Islamic studies and the Quran to Muslim students, sources reported many non-Muslim students were also required to participate because their schools did not offer parallel courses in their own religious beliefs or ethics. The CLAAS legal team filed a contempt of court application, but the Lahore High Court dismissed the plea. Shia Muslims also fear their religious freedom is being legislated away. Mr Haider is one of 140 Pakistani Shias to have "disappeared" over the past two years, according to community activists. The constitution states, All existing laws shall be brought into conformity with the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah [Islams body of traditional social and legal custom and practice]. It further states no law shall be enacted which is repugnant to Islam. The temple had also been part of a government-run school. Police intervened on multiple occasions to quell mob violence directed at individuals accused of blasphemy. Throughout the year, unidentified individuals assaulted and killed Shia and Ahmadis in attacks sources believed to be religiously motivated. Then, in mid-September, a march of more than 30,000 people, organised by extremist Sunni Muslim groups, gathered in Karachi over two days to call Shia Muslims unbelievers and blasphemers and called for their beheading. 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 . The population share of Hindus dropped a little from 22.06 per cent in 1911 to 20.48. On October 11, unidentified militants abducted six Shia pilgrims near the Pakistan-Iran border region of Panjgur, in Balochistan. The Shia population is around 20 per cent of the total population of Pakistan. Approximately 80 percent of Shia are "Twelvers" (Shia who recognize 12 imams) and are primarily located in the Eastern Province. The Shia population in Pakistan is estimated as being 11.8% of the country's population. CLAAS helped both file an antidiscrimination petition in the Lahore High Court. A complainant filed a criminal charge against them on May 3, triggering the police investigation. Students who identify themselves as Muslims must declare in writing they believe Mohammed is the final prophet. The government said Ahmadis could qualify for admission if they did not claim to be Muslims. According to the penal code, the punishments for persons convicted of blasphemy include the death penalty for defiling the Prophet Mohammed, life imprisonment for defiling, damaging, or desecrating the Quran, and up to 10 years imprisonment for insulting anothers religious feelings. Speech or action intended to incite religious hatred is punishable by up to seven years imprisonment. According to sources, the Shia population of Pakistan is estimated to be between 10 and 15 percent (Australia 20 Feb. 2019, para. Minority lawmakers and civil society activists reacted strongly to the attack, stating the boys had been instigated by local Muslim clerics. On January 26, for example, a local court sentenced four boys for vandalizing a Hindu temple in Sindhs Tharparkar District, the first attack on a Hindu temple in that area in more than 30 years; minority lawmakers and civil society activists reacted strongly to the attack. Members of civil society reported that converts from Islam lived in varying degrees of secrecy for fear of violent retribution from family members or society at large. A media report said four people, including two Shia Muslims, one Ahmadi sect member and a US citizen who renounced the Ahmadi sect, were gunned down in September 2020. Some religious minority leaders stated the system of selecting minority parliamentarians through the internal deliberations of mainstream parties resulted in the appointment of party stalwarts or those who could afford to buy the seats, rather than legislators who genuinely represented minority communities. In December 2019, the parliament passed and Modi signed the Citizenship Amendment Act, which allows for the fast-tracking of citizenship for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian. The incident was the first attack on a Hindu temple in Tharparkar in more than 30 years. The government of Punjab, the countrys largest province, passed a series of measures against Ahmadi Muslim beliefs. 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) Embassy officers met with civil society leaders, experts, and journalists to stress the need to protect the rights of religious minorities and to continue to support measures that decrease sectarian violence. The Katas Raj Hindu temple was reopened for Hindus after renovation in the Chakwal district of Punjab. We call upon authorities to ensure the safety of all Pakistanis.. 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. 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. The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony is responsible for organizing participation in the Hajj and other Islamic religious pilgrimages. Video footage from a National Assembly session in July showed opposition lawmakers immediately criticizing Prime Minister Khan when he failed to use the phrase after speaking the name of the Prophet Mohammed in an address to parliament. 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. 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. The economy will contract by 1.3 percent in the 2020 fiscal year because of the pandemic, the World Bank predicts. 4. 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. According to local sources, the high-profile case led to communal tensions in Jacobabad, the couples home district, and clerics from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal party publicly accused the girl of apostasy and called for her death. Speakers at that conference repeatedly used anti-Ahmadi rhetoric. According to the SATP, at least 10 persons were killed and three injured in 10 incidents of sectarian violence by extremist groups during the year. In addition to the large JUI-F conference and rallies, the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami also held a large event in September in Peshawar; both parties criticized the PTI-led national government for failing to enforce Islamic law. 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. According to eyewitnesses, police officials in at least four police vans cordoned off the area and arrested Soomro, who initially resisted. 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. 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. Human rights and religious freedom activists and members of minority religious groups continued to report that they exercised caution and, occasionally, self-censorship when speaking in favor of religious tolerance because of a societal climate of intolerance and fear. 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. Blasphemy is a capital offence in Pakistan and even unsubstantiated allegations can lead to mob violence and lynchings against the accused. Download Historical Data Save as Image From: To: Zoom: Current Historical U.N. On January 22, the Hyderabad center hosted an event on educational institutions roles in promoting tolerance and creating peaceful communities. In May 2000, the Shia Muslims based in the Gilgit district of the then Northern Areas began to agitate against the recently changed curriculum of government schools in the region. In July, the Department of State issued a statement following the killing of Tahir Naseem 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. In Peshawar, security was increased around churches ahead of Christmas after security forces arrested four militants on December 17 who were allegedly planning an attack on Christmas Day, which is also celebrated as Quaid-i-Azam Day, the birthday of Pakistans founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP via Getty Images January 7, 2020, 12:20. However, the vehement sectarian resurgence began in 2017 when the Pakistani government began making concessions to the extremist Sunni Muslim groups. Projections 0 100,000,000 200,000,000 300,000,000 400,000,000 Population 235,824,862 This requirement effectively prohibits Ahmadi Muslims from holding elected office, as they recognize a prophet subsequent to Mohammed. On October 10, 1993, the then Central government had announced elected . For 40-year-old Tehseen, Kashif was her whole world. The law bans the sale of Ahmadiyya religious literature. Subsequently, Arfana Mallah, a professor at Sindh University Jamshoro who criticized Soomros arrest and the blasphemy laws, was herself accused of committing blasphemy and had to apologize publicly. According to Shia community estimates, There are approximate . Their refusal to sign the statement meant they were automatically disqualified from fulfilling the admissions requirements. On January 26, a local court sentenced four young boys, who had confessed to vandalizing a Hindu temple in Sindhs Tharparkar district, to a juvenile center in Hyderabad. The law requires elected Muslim officials to swear an oath affirming their belief that Mohammed is the final prophet of Islam. The government did not permit Ahmadis to teach Islamic studies in public schools. 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. 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. On July 9, the Sindh High Court ordered that the girl could return to her Hindu parents. On January 30, police arrested two Shia men in Tando Mohammed Khan, southern Sindh, and charged them with blasphemy. In late December, the PTA publicly used this new authority for the first time to demand the removal of sacrilegious content. Phillip Smyth. (Goyal, 2020) There has been an even greater decline in major cities with historically large Hindu populations. Global AIDS Coordinator and Global Health Diplomacy, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Special Representative for Syria Engagement, U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Office of the U.S. Taking into account the Ahmadi boycott of the official census, however, community sources put the number of Ahmadi Muslims at approximately 500,000 to 600,000. The court also barred her alleged husband and his family from meeting her and ordered police to arrest those who facilitated the marriage. Planning and execution of decennial Population & Housing Census. Processing and dissemination of data in the form of Census Reports. In July, religious and right-wing parties criticized the governments plan to permit construction of a new Hindu temple in Islamabad. . On October 6, the Lahore High Court acquitted Sawan Masih, a Christian man sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2014, but Masih continued to face death threats and had to go into hiding with his family. Civil society groups continued to state that the blasphemy laws disproportionately affected members of religious minority communities. 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. Shia Numbers are in the range of 320 Millions to 350 Millions and according to some estimates its in the range of 400 Millions. According to the governments immigration website, the Ministry of Interior could grant visas to foreign missionaries invited by organizations registered in the country. 3.72; Encyclopaedia Britannica 4 Oct. 2019; US 18 Dec. 2019), or "some 17-26 million people" ( Encyclopaedia Britannica 4 Oct. 2019). By law, decisions of the FSC may be appealed to the Supreme Courts Shariat Appellate Bench. Several historians argue that the Indian Shia elite played a. In Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provinces, private schools are also required to teach Islamic studies and the Quran to Muslim students.
