Timeline - Persecution of Religious Minorities - In-Depth - DAWN

6/28/2015
Timeline:PersecutionofreligiousminoritiesIndepthDAWN.COM
Timeline: Persecution of
religious minorities
DAWN.COM PUBLISHED NOV 04, 2012 11:36AM
File Photo
Religious persecution in Pakistan is not uncommon in

Pakistan; however, year 2011 and 2012 witnessed marked
increase in the attacks against minorities especially
Muslim minorities. According to a report published by
Human Rights Watch , summarising the incidents related
to human rights violation in Pakistan stated that 2011 was
disastrous for Pakistan during which religious
minorities faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution
in the country. The seeds of religious disharmony were
sown in the 1970s which initially targeted only Ahmadis,
however, the scope of religious persecution widened
http://www.dawn.com/news/761507/timelinepersecutionofreligiousminorities
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however, the scope of religious persecution widened

greatly over the period of decades led by
fundamentalists elements in the society and now
includes people from Shia and Bohra communities other
than Christians and Hindus.
Ironic as it may sound but the historical trend clearly
signifies that Shias of Pakistan have been targeted more
with Ahmadis closely trailing behind, followed by people
professing other religions.
Dawn.com presents an exclusive timeline of all the major
incidents entailing religious persecution witnessed in
Pakistan.
1988: A dispute arising on the grounds of sighting Eid
moon triggered violent sectarian attacks in GilgitBaltistan. A group of people representing Sunni Lashkar
comprising hundreds of people from different
northwestern Pakistani cities united against Shias.
The ensuing violence claimed many lives , mostly those
of Shia Muslims, villages were ransacked and torched down
and the livestock was slaughtered.
June 26, 1991: Unidentified assailants slaughtered 13
members of a Shia family in Islampura. The killed
included women and children.
April 1995: Two members of Ahmadiyya community
were stoned to death in what then was known as North
West Frontier Province of Pakistan in the area of Shab
Qadar.
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The body of one of the victims was stripped and dragged all
across the city whereas the police allegedly stood and
watched the massacre.
1997: Twelve members of a Shia family were killed during a
Majlis in 1997. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) leader Malik Ishaq
was arrested, however, was released later due to lack of
evidence.
The same year, Malik Ishaq was alleged to have bombed
the Iranian culture centre in Multan claiming eight lives.
Moreover, in July of 1997 four women and children
belonging to Shia sect were shot dead in Samanabad.
October 2000: Unknown assailants opened fire at the
prayer meeting of an Ahmadi mosque in a village located
near Sialkot killing at least five worshippers.
Ten days later another five Ahmadis were gunned down
whilst they were praying in Takht-Hazari a village
located 30 miles away from Sargodha.
In October 2000, seven Shia Muslims including three
women were killed in Faisal Town of Lahore.
February 26, 2002: At least 11 Shia Muslims were killed by
indiscriminate firing by a group of masked gunmen at
the Shah-i-Najaf Mosque in Rawalpindi.
March 2002 : Assailants allegedly associated with Sunni
Tehrik assassinated Prof Ataur Rehman and a caretaker of
an Imam Bargah who tried to intervene whilst the assassin
were escaping the crime scene.
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May 7, 2002 : Renowned religious scholar Prof Dr Ghulam

Murtaza Malik, his driver and a policeman were shot dead
by two gunmen who claimed to be associated with Sunni
Tehrik.
June 8, 2003: Eleven Hazara Shia police trainees were shot
dead in a sectarian attack on Sariab Road located in Quetta.
On the same day, twelve Shia Hazara police cadets were
gunned downed in Quetta.
July 4, 2003 At least 47 people were killed and 150 injured
in an attack on an Imambargah in Quetta.
September 24, 2003: Eight people belonging to Shia sect
were murdered in Allama Iqbal Town of Lahore. The
deceased included women and children.
February 28, 2004: An alleged suicide bomber was killed
whereas and three worshipers were injured in an attack on
an Imambargah in located in Satellite Town of
Rawalpindi.
March 2, 2004: An estimated number of 50 people lost
their lives and more than 100 were reportedly wounded
when a procession led by Shia Muslims on the revered day
of Ashura was attacked in Liaquat Bazaar of Quetta.
May 14, 2004: Six members of Shia family including two
women and a baby girl were shot dead in Mughalpura
Lahore. The family was tied to chairs and then shot in the
head.
May 30, 2004: A senior Deobandi religious scholar and
head of Islamic religious school Jamia Binoria, Mufti
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head of Islamic religious school Jamia Binoria, Mufti

Nizamuddin Shamzai, was gunned down in his car while
leaving his home in Karachi.
Soon after the attacked the city was engulfed in violence in
which eight policemen were reportedly injured.
May 31, 2004: A suicide bomber blew up the Imambarghah
Ali Raza mosque in Karachi in the middle of evening
prayers, killing 16 worshipers and injuring 35. Two people
were killed in riots over the mosque attack and Shamzais
assassination.
Soon after the suicide blast, the city was attacked by
armed assailants who torched an American restaurant and
killed at least a dozen civilians.
September 21, 2004: Three members of Shia family were
gunned down in Dera Ismail Khan. It was alleged Sipah-eSahaba members were involved in the killings.
October 1, 2004: A suicide bombing left 25 people dead and
dozen injured at an Imambargah in Sialkot .
October 7, 2004: A bomb blast left 40 people dead and
wounded over 100 during a Sunni (Deobandi) rally to
commemorate Maulana Azam Tariq assassinated leader
of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan in Multan.
October 10, 2004: A suicide bombing at Hussainia Hall
Mosque in Lahore killed four and injured eight people.
January 8, 2005 : Renowned Shia cleric called Agha
Ziauddin was ambushed and killed by unidentified
gunmen in Gilgit. It is widely alleged that his assassination
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gunmen in Gilgit. It is widely alleged that his assassination

gave rise to major sectarian disharmony in the region.
March 19, 2005: At least 35 people were killed and many
injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself at the
shrine of Pir Rakhel Shah in remote village of Fatehpur
located in Jhal Magsi District of Balochistan. The dead
included Shia and Deobandi devotees.
May 27, 2005: A suicide bomber killed at least 43 and
wounded 82 people at the annual Shia Muslims
congregation at the shrine of Bari Imam in Islamabad.
October 7, 2005: An attack at an Ahmadi place of
worship in Mandi Bahauddin killed eight and injured 20
people.
September 2008: Three members of Ahmaddiya
community were murdered after a private TV channel
aired a religious programme enticing people to kill
Ahmadis declaring them wajib-ul-qatal.
February 20, 2009: At least nine people were killed and
more than 43 injured when a suicide bomber attacked a
funeral procession in Dera Ismail Khan. Just before the
funeral Nazir Hussain, mohtamim of Imambargah Mehtab
Bibi Mohallah Hatullah, was gunned down in front of his
house.
The attack was alleged a sectarian attack.
April 5, 2009: A suicide bomber detonated outside the
entrance of an Imambargah in Chakwal , in Punjab
province. The attack claimed 24 lives whereas 140 were
reported to be injured.
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reported to be injured.
December 28, 2009: At least 30 Shia Muslims were killed
and dozens injured in an apparent suicide bombing at an
Ashura procession in Karachi.
Soon after the attack , angry protestors ransacked
adjoining markets and later set them ablaze costing
business community billions of rupees.
April 2010: Three Ahmadis were killed in Faisalabad when
unidentified assailants ambushed their car. Victims were
immediately transported to the hospital where all of them
were pronounced dead .
May 28, 2010: In perfectly synchronized and coordinated
attacks, at least 86 people were killed and more than 120
injured in two places of worship of Ahmadiya community.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed the responsibility for
the targeted attacks .
May 30, 2010: An Ahmadi man and his son were stabbed
to death by an unknown assailant in Narowal.
September 1, 2010: At least 25 people were killed and over
150 injured after three bombs ripped through the city of
Lahore. The bombs exploded during a procession organised
by Shia Muslims.
Soon after the attacks , several incidents of violence were
reported in the outskirts of the provincial capital where
police vans and stations were vandalized and set ablaze.
September 3, 2010: Attack on a rally in Quetta killed at
least 53 and injured over 100 people during a procession
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least 53 and injured over 100 people during a procession

organised by Shia Muslims to show solidarity with
Palestinians.
On the same day, a bomb attack targeting Baitul Zikkar in
Mardan claimed one life and injured at least three other
Ahmadis.
December 9, 2010: A mortar attack killed at least six and
injured eight people in the Northwestern part of Pakistan.
The attack came on the revered day of Ashura
commemorated widely by Shia Muslims.
December 13, 2010: At least one person was killed and two
children injured when a bomb struck a school bus in
Bhana Marri area located in the outskirts of Peshawar. The
attack was alleged sectarian as it came during the month of
Moharram.
January 25, 2011: Two suicide blasts targeted Shia
processions in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore as well
as the major southern port city of Karachi. At least 15
people were killed in the attacks.
May 6, 2011: At least six Shia Muslims were killed and 10
others were reportedly injured when unidentified gunmen
fired rockets and sprayed bullets at a ground adjacent to
the Hazara graveyard.
May 18, 2011: Seven more Shia Muslims were gunned down
in Quetta.
September 20, 2011: Unidentified gunmen shot dead 29
Pakistani Shia pilgrims travelling to Iran. In a brutal
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assault, gunmen ordered pilgrims off their bus, lined them

up and assassinated them in a hail of gunfire in Mastung.
February 28, 2012: Eighteen Shia Muslims were killed in
Chilas whilst they were on their way to Gilgit-Baltistan
from Rawalpindi.
April 3, 2012: A mob dragged nine Shia Muslims from
buses and shot them dead in the town of Chilas.
June 3, 2012: A Shia Muslim belonging to Hazara
community was gunned down and another was injured
when unidentified assailants opened fire on the victims at
Sariab Road located in Quetta.
August 16, 2012: Twenty-five Shia Muslims were killed in
attack on the bus en route to Gilgit-baltistan in
Manshera district. The passengers were asked to present
their identification cards and Shias were targeted and later
on killed.
August 17, 2012: A bomb struck a bus taking Shia
Muslims to a protest rally near Karachis Safari Park on
University Road, killing one man and wounding 11 others.
August 27, 2012: Three people of the Hazara community
were shot dead when their taxi was ambushed by armed
assailants at Spiny Road in Quetta.
August 31, 2012: Additional districts and session judge
Zulfiqar Naqvi was shot dead in Quetta. The deceased was
en route to his office when his car was ambushed by
unidentified assailants.
September 10, 2012: A car bomb ripped through a
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September 10, 2012: A car bomb ripped through a

crowded market in Parachinar bordering Afghanistan
killing 12 Shia Muslims.
September 18, 2012: At least seven people including an
infant, a young girl and woman were killed and 22 injured
when twin bombs exploded at North Nazimabad in
Karachi. The attack predominantly targeted the Bohra
Community of the city and was considered as the first
attack against the Muslim minority.
On the same day, a bomb ripped through a passenger
bus in Mastung carrying Shia Muslim pilgrims killing at
least three and injuring almost a dozen passengers.
Over the passage of years, hordes of people have migrated
to other countries in hopes to live a violence-free life.
October 2012:
Four Hazara men were shot dead in an attack on a scrap
shop. Men on motorcycles opened fire on the shop in
Kabarhi 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 Aftab
Haider Jaffery, were shot dead in Karachi. nidentified
gunmen killed two men at the New M A Jinnah road near
the parking plaza in Saddar. The deceased were identified
as Agha Aftab Haider Jaffery and Shahid Ali.
November 24, 2012:
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A bomb blast killed eight people Saturday near a

Muharram procession in Khyber Pakhtunkhwas Dera
Ismail Khan district despite a security crackdown. Four
boys were among the dead and 30 other people were
injured when the remote-controlled bomb packed with
ball bearings exploded on the outskirts of Dera Ismail
Khan.
January 9, 2013:
Gunmen shot dead a Shia Muslim doctor associated with
the main ruling PPP in Peshawar. Riaz Hussain was
president of the PPP branch in Kurram, one of seven semiautonomous districts that make up the tribal belt on the
Afghan border where the Taliban and al Qaeda have
strongholds.
He was killed as he left his clinic in the Dabgari area of
Peshawar and police suggested it was a targeted, sectarian
killing.
January 10, 2013:
As many as 81 people were killed and 121 injured in suicide
and car bomb blasts in Quettas Alamdar Road area. Earlier
in the afternoon, 12 people lost their lives when a bomb
went off near a vehicle of the Frontier Corps at Bacha Khan
Chowk.
A cameraman and a reporter of a private news channel, a
computer operator of a news agency and nine police
personnel, including two senior police officers, were
among the dead, while 10 army and FC personnel were
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injured in the blasts.

A majority of the people killed in the Alamdar Road blasts
belonged to the Hazara Shia community.
Email news tips and feedback to News Desk, submit blogs to Blog Desk and share photos and
Videos with Special Projects Desk.
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Timeline - Persecution of Religious Minorities - In-Depth - DAWN

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6/28/2015

Religious persecution in Pakistan is not uncommon in

however, the scope of religious persecution widened

May 7, 2002 : Renowned religious scholar Prof Dr Ghulam

head of Islamic religious school Jamia Binoria, Mufti

gunmen in Gilgit. It is widely alleged that his assassination

least 53 and injured over 100 people during a procession

assault, gunmen ordered pilgrims off their bus, lined them

September 10, 2012: A car bomb ripped through a

A bomb blast killed eight people Saturday near a

injured in the blasts.

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