I AM A SHIA, AND I PROTEST!

The Shia community is a Muslim minority sect and is differentiated from the majority Sunni sect on the basis of a few Islamic principles.

What started off as homage to the martyrs of Karbala 1400 years ago has now become a ritual for us. For years, in almost every corner of the World, we celebrate the Islamic month of Muharram with religious fervor to mourn and mark the death anniversary of Hazrat Imam Hussein (A.S); the grandson of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) and his seventy one companions, who stood up for the true Islamic spirit whose essence was forgotten in the tyrannical, extremist and barbaric rule of Yazid Ibn Muawaiya. He and his followers finally laid their lives in order to save the sanctity and purity of the religion of his grandfather: Islam.

For as back as 720AD, amicable religious processions (jaloos) and Majlia -e- Aza (gathering to mourn) are held in every corner of the country to pay tribute to Imam Hussein (A.S) and his staunch companions, but, sadly since 2003 we; the Shias in Pakistan have been a victim of ‘Sectarian violence’.

The first major outbreak of the Shia-Sunni conflict (as it is primarily termed) took place in the hustling bustling vicinity of Laiquat Bazaar, Quetta (Baluchistan),In an Imambargah (Shia Mosque) that killed 123 people and wounded many others.

From then on, such attacks on the Shia community have become a norm and this heinous crime marked the commencement of a new chapter in the history of Pakistan: ‘Sectarianism’.

Acts of ghastliness and nefariousness against the Shias followed the tragedy of Quetta. In October 2003, 12 Shia cadets were shot down in Quetta purely because of their religion.

As many as 4,000 people are estimated to have been killed in Shia-Sunni sectarian fighting in Pakistan between 1987–2007.And since 2008 "thousands of Shia" have been killed by Sunni extremists according to the human rights group Human Rights Watch. Among those blamed for the sectarian violence in the country are mainly Sunni militant groups, such as the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Sahaba, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (affiliates of Al-Qaeda). Lashkar-e-Jhangvi "has claimed responsibility for most attacks" on Shia according to Human Rights Watch.

For the last 5 years Shias in the whole country no longer feel safe. On December 28, 2009, a bomb exploded in the Ashura procession killing 40 people and wounding dozens. In September 2010, a bomb exploded in Lahore followed by Quetta, causing 90 casualties and wounding 160 people.

Not only have the Shias have been slaughtered ruthlessly in bomb-blasts, they; every now and then have been victims of ‘target killing’. In June 2010, 7 intellectuals and bystanders were shot down in Karachi (mostly Shias). On the inauspicious morning of 18^th February 2013, unidentified gunmen shot Dr Syed Ali Haider and his 11 year old son in the posh vicinity of Gulberg, Lahore. Dr Syed was a leading a vitreo-retinal surgeon, who also worked in collaboration with the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust Hospital.

But, the most desolate tragedy of all: The multiple bomb-blasts in Quetta on the unpropitious day of 10 January 2013, which killed 130 people and wounded 270. Protests in Quetta by the city's Shia community erupted the day after the bombings, with protesters and local Shia officials refusing to bury those killed until the Pakistani army took control of security in the city. Protests also broke out over the weekend of 12–13 January in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Islamabad and ten other smaller cities around the country. On 13 January, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf visited protesters in Quetta and agreed to dismiss provincial government officials, though he refused to implement military control in the city.

Early on 14 January, he announced that Baluchistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani and his cabinet had been removed from their posts, with Zulfikar Ali Magsi appointed to lead the provincial government. In response, Quetta Shias agreed to end their protests and begin burials later in the day. Alas, all the attempts went in vain as the government has not been successful in bringing an end to this extermination against the Shias.

It has been two months since the commencement of the year 2015 and the Shias have fallen target  inhumane act of bomb-blasts. No plea was heard when dozens cried in Chittya Hattiyan ( Rawalpindi), no politician responded when the Imam Bargah Karbala-e- Maula was targeted in Shairkpur (Sindh); No statement was issued by law enforcement against when worshipers were slaughtered in Peshawar and neither was yesterday’s bombing at a Shia Mosque was condemned by  the elite!

When the Army Public School massacre took place on 16^th December 2014, within a few days a National Action Plan (NAP) was drafted, all the political differences were forgotten and the long held ban on executions was suddenly lifted. For the past decade, thousands of Shias have been killed but the government has not taken any course of action to deal with the issue of sectarianism.

Are we not the citizens of this country? Do we not have a right to live? Do we not contribute to the welfare of this country?

The Shia community shall be waiting for answers.