Unknown assailants shot a Peshawar trader, also an Ahmadiyya community member, near his business on August 12. Shia Muslims 1.1 Demographics. The constitution states this requirement shall not affect the personal laws of non-Muslim citizens or their status as citizens. Shares of Sikhs and Buddhists in overall population increased marginally. The Shia population is spread all over Pakistan. His ordeal began with a Facebook post in early September, where he condemned the killers of a Shia Muslim martyred centuries ago. The website further stated extensions could be granted for two years with two reentries per year, excluding from India. In July, police arrested four men for destroying a 1,700-year-old Gandharan civilization statue of Buddha in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a video showing one of the men hammering the statue went viral on social media. Christian activists also stated young women from their communities were vulnerable to forced conversions. 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. Sources vary on the precise breakdown of the Muslim population between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Median age total: 33.7 years male: 33.1 years In October, members of a State Youth Parliament team in Gujranwala defaced a public portrait of the countrys first Nobel laureate, physicist Dr. Abdus Salam, an Ahmadi. The four men were charged with defacing antiquities. 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. Religious community representatives estimate religious groups not identifying as Sunni, Shia, or Ahmadi Muslim constitute 3 to 5 percent of the population. However, violence is inevitable because the anger and anxiety on both sides seem to be mounting. Other NGOs also said that 2020 had seen an increase in blasphemy cases. Even Fawad Chaudhry, currently serving as the minister for science and technology in Khans government, conceded that sectarianism was an issue that was getting out of hand. There is no option to state no religion. National identity cards are required for all citizens upon reaching the age of 18. 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 September 7, the JUI-F party held a large Khatm-e-Nabuwat conference in Peshawar, with party leaders and national and provincial parliamentarians in attendance. T he most intriguing aspect of Kashmir is the dynamic between the Shia and Sunni communities in the Valley. A full bench of the Supreme Court may grant a further appeal. The provincial and federal governments have legal responsibility for certain minority religious properties abandoned during the 1947 partition of British India. 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. Approximately 80 percent of Shia are "Twelvers" (Shia who recognize 12 imams) and are primarily located in the Eastern Province. 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. This declaration is also required for private educational institutions, including universities. These conferences were organized by groups that stated they were defending the teaching that Mohammed is the final prophet but were often characterized by both secular and Ahmadi critics as engaging in hate speech against Ahmadi Muslims. 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. 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. U.S. government cultural centers in Khairpur, Hyderabad, and Karachi held events to promote religious freedom. In late December, the PTA publicly used this new authority for the first time to demand the removal of sacrilegious content. In April, some members of the Hindu community in Karachis Lyari area were denied food packages provided by a local charity, according to local sources. The Charge dAffaires, consuls general, other embassy officers, and visiting senior U.S. officials engaged government officials and senior advisors to the Prime Minister, including the Minister for Human Rights, and officials from the Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, and Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony to discuss blasphemy law reform; laws concerning Ahmadi Muslims; the need to better protect members of religious minority communities; sectarian relations; and religious respect. The attackers relationship to organized terrorist groups was often unclear. In 2017, TLP was responsible for forcing a law minister to quit over a perceived softening in the blasphemy laws. Estimates of the Zikri Muslim community, located in Balochistan, range between 500,000 and 800,000 individuals. In the same election, ASWJ also threw its influential backing behind 70 candidates from Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which won and formed the government. Shia Muslims mourning the death anniversary of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, in Karachi on 8 October. The Sindh High Court on October 27 originally upheld the validity of the marriage, citing the marriage certificate that indicated the girl was 18 years old, and ruling that she had converted to Islam and married of her own free will. Many have observed that outrage against Shia. In 2020, the provincial government began to implement the act, and NADRA began registering Hindu marriages in Sindh, according to Hindu community activists. Speakers at these rallies warned Shia of dire consequences, including beheadings, if they continued to blaspheme against the Prophet Mohammeds companions. 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). Though Kareem had meant it as a post of religious devotion, it caught the attention of an extremist Sunni Muslim group, who called him a traitor to Muslims. An Ahmadi trader in Peshawar was shot near his business on August 12. 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 is a small myth that Christianity has been existent in Pakistan ever since a few decades after the crucifixion of Jesus . Hindu activists in Sindh reported discrimination against the Hindu community during COVID-19 food-relief efforts by private charities. Shias, who make up 15 percent of Pakistan's 220 million population, commemorate the seventh-century massacre of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Husayn and his family and friends at the Battle of Karbala in Iraq for refusing . Shia Population Shia by Country (cont.) In July, religious and right-wing parties criticized the governments plan to permit construction of a new Hindu temple in Islamabad. In July, a teenager killed U.S. citizen Tahir Naseem in a Peshawar courtroom, where Naseem was on trial for blasphemy. The plan followed a 2014 Supreme Court decision that ordered the government to take steps to ensure the rights of minorities and promote a culture of religious and social tolerance, but religious freedom activists and civil society groups said the proposal was toothless and raised concerns regarding the Religious Affairs Ministrys lack of public consultation, the limited powers of the proposed body, and the ultimate decision to exclude Ahmadis. The government of Punjab, the countrys largest province, passed a series of measures against Ahmadi Muslim beliefs. 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. Legal observers also reported judges and magistrates often delayed or continued trials indefinitely to avoid confrontation with, or violence from, groups provoking protests. The court also barred her alleged husband and his family from meeting her and ordered police to arrest those who facilitated the marriage. 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. (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics) However, according to data from the 2017 Census that was made unofficially available to a lawmaker, the Hindu population may have decreased by 0.19% from 1998. . Download Historical Data Save as Image From: To: Zoom: Current Historical U.N. At years end, she and her alleged husband had not appeared in court in Karachi, despite multiple court orders to do so. In September, unidentified gunmen killed two prominent members of the local Shia community in the Kohat District of that province. According to Shia community estimates, There are approximate . 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. According to civil society and media, armed sectarian groups connected to organizations banned by the government, including the LeJ, TTP, and the once-banned anti-Shia group SSP, continued to be responsible for violence and other abuses against religious minorities. Unfortunately, due to the history that Pakistan has had, especially with regards to security, this remains a huge problem, said Chaudhry. As one senior security official speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged: We cant ignore the role of regional and international powers in sectarianism in Pakistan Iran supports the Shia militia here.. Ahmadiyya community representatives reported the word Ahmadi was written on their passports if they identified themselves as such. A large portion of . U.S. Government Policy and Engagement. Civil society groups continued to state that the blasphemy laws disproportionately affected members of religious minority communities. The establishment of the UT of Ladakh was in concurrence with the age-old demand of Leh, a demand opposed by Kargil. The girls family said they feared she had been forced to convert and marry a Muslim. 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. However, the vehement sectarian resurgence began in 2017 when the Pakistani government began making concessions to the extremist Sunni Muslim groups. This is probably an attempt to contain any outbreak of violence, because Shias in Pakistan are a sizeable minority. In court proceedings, the girl retracted her video statement and said she wanted to return to her parents. Police intervened on multiple occasions to quell mob violence directed at individuals accused of blasphemy. Other NGOs corroborated that 2020 had seen an increase in blasphemy cases. Despite these problems some international organizations have researched and reported some statistics. Other government officials, including Prime Minister Khan, advised Sarwar against signing the bill, according to a Lahore-based journalist. Karachi, the financial hub of Pakistan, has witnessed at least four big anti-Shia rallies since September 11, held by different Sunni groups. The Sindh provincial cabinet adopted regulations to implement the Sindh Hindu Marriage Act in December 2019, which provided more specific rules for implementation. 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. After Iran and India, Pakistan has the world's third-largest Shia community, accounting for ten percent of the total population. The government did not permit Ahmadis to teach Islamic studies in public schools. Members of this religious group have suffered persecution specifically from Mughal Emperors. Most minority religious groups said they continued to face discrimination in government hiring. On October 9, a Hindu teacher was attacked by a Muslim man with an axe on her way to her school in Mithi, Sindh. A few Protestant groups conduct missions in Pakistan. The government took some measures to protect religious minorities. 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. The girl remained in a government shelter for several months before returning to her parents. 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 Qataris are all Muslims and followers of the Sunni Salafi version of Islam. 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. 4. Civil society members reported authorities took no action to prevent attacks on Ahmadi mosques or punish assailants who demolished, damaged, forcibly occupied, or set fire to Ahmadi mosques. The victims, burned to death by an angry mob, were Babar Noman and Hafiz Naeem. Local authorities did not allow the repair or unsealing of Ahmadi mosques damaged or demolished by rioters in previous years.

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