shia population in pakistan 2020

The population of Pakistan in 2019 was 223,293,280, a 1.62% increase from 2018. 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.. The population of Shia: How many Shia are there in the world? - Islamic Web Police intervened on multiple occasions to quell mob violence directed at individuals accused of blasphemy. After Iran and India, Pakistan has the world's third-largest Shia community, accounting for ten percent of the total population. Population Census | Pakistan Bureau of Statistics Throughout the year, unidentified individuals targeted and killed Shia Muslims, including ethnic Hazaras, and Ahmadi Muslims in attacks believed to be religiously motivated. On December 2, the Secretary of State redesignated Pakistan as a CPC under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended, for having engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom, and announced a waiver of the sanctions that accompany designation as required in the important national interests of the United States. The constitution directs the state to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of minorities, to secure the well-being of the people irrespective of creed, and to discourage sectarian prejudices. What is the population of Shia in Pakistan in 2020? Throughout the year, some government officials and politicians engaged in anti-Ahmadi rhetoric and attended events that Ahmadi Muslims said incited violence against members of their community. 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 religious minority activists, provincial governments also often failed to meet quotas for hiring religious minorities into the civil service. I fear for myself and my family. With the police on their way to interrogate him, and fearing the violent fate that extremist Sunni groups in Pakistan inflict on those accused of blasphemy, last month Kareem and his family chose to disappear. World Shia Muslims Population - Home According to a Punjab government official, Sarwar had no intention of signing the bill until there was a consensus that it would not harm religious minorities. Identification cards are used for voting, pension disbursement, social and financial inclusion programs, and other services. Pakistan's Human Rights Commission reported more than 200 terrorist attacks resulted in nearly 700 Shia deaths and over 1,000 Shia injuries in 2013. the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom also reported over 600 Shias were killed for their faith between 1999 and 2003. Sunnis represent approximately 75 percent of this population and Shias 20 . Although students of other religious groups are not legally required to study Islam, schools do not always offer parallel studies in their own religious beliefs. Parents may send children to private schools, including religious schools, at the familys expense. The government took some measures to protect religious minorities. It stated that more than 40 cases against religious minorities were registered under the blasphemy laws in August alone. The stronghold of Barelvism remains Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan. Getty Images. On August 30, police charged Shia cleric Taqqi Jaffar with blasphemy for criticizing Mohammeds companions during a Karachi Muharram procession. 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. 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. shia surnames in pakistan ASWJ had previously been banned in Pakistan under the Anti-Terrorism Act before it was lifted in 2018 but is still globally considered a terrorist organisation. The rallies occurred days after a unanimous resolution by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly condemning anti-Islam statements and the republication in France of the Charlie Hebdo cartoon depictions of the Prophet Mohammed. Since 1980s, Parachinar, with majority Shia population, has seen the emergence of radical Saudi-sponsored Salafist groups, and sectarian violence has become a disturbing phenomenon, fueled by local and global terrorist organizations like the Taliban and ISIS. The last census was conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in 2017. Estimates of the Zikri Muslim community, located in Balochistan, range between 500,000 and 800,000 individuals. All senior officials, including members of parliament, must swear an oath to protect the countrys Islamic identity. The law requires elected Muslim officials to swear an oath affirming their belief that Mohammed is the final prophet of Islam. [6] As much as 90% of the population follows Sunni Islam. Courts also penalized antiblasphemy groups. Page 2 of 41 Preface. 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. Political parties elected by the general electorate choose the minority individuals who hold these seats; they are not elected directly by the minority constituencies they represent. In July, religious and right-wing parties criticized the governments plan to permit construction of a new Hindu temple in Islamabad. Despite her filing a complaint, police did not open a case initially. The law bans the sale of Ahmadiyya religious literature. 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. 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. Top Countries by Muslim population | Muslim population in World 2022 On February 7, the district administration returned a century-old Hindu temple to the Hindu community in Zhob, Balochistan. Shia Muslims Population - World Shia Muslims Population Pakistan's population is expected to surpass that of Indonesia in 2048 when it will reach 331.29 million. 55-64 years: 9.62% (male 250,653/female 275,670) 65 years and over: 7.96% (male 187,001/female 248,479) (2020 est.) 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. His ordeal began with a Facebook post in early September, where he condemned the killers of a Shia Muslim martyred centuries ago. Shia Muslims 1.1 Demographics According to sources, the Shia population of Pakistan is estimated to be between 10 and 15 percent (Australia 20 Feb. 2019, para. Ahead of Christmas in Lahore, police deployed some 6,000 officers and officials at 623 churches. Wafaqs (independent academic boards) register seminaries, regulate curricula, and issue degrees. Shia population: 17 - 26 million Pakistan participates with a similar percentage of Shia Muslim to its neighbor India, with Shia Muslims making 10 - 15% of all Muslims in Pakistan. At least one individual was accused of spreading blasphemous content through social media under PECA. Planning and execution of decennial Population & Housing Census. Population of males is 106018220 and females is 101344632. As of years end, the case was awaiting prosecution. Following the killing of Tahir Naseem, the Department of State issued a statement 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 court acquitted a second Christian in December. Phillip Smyth was a Soref Fellow at The Washington Institute from 2018-2021. AsiaNews, the official press agency of the Roman Catholic Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, reported that two members of a Christian family were shot and wounded after buying a house in a neighborhood inhabited primarily by Muslims on June 4 in the Sawati Phatak Colony of Peshawar. Methodology for Sunni-Shia Estimates Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life / Mapping the Global Muslim Population Provinces of Pakistan Population Detail Information About Provinces Wise Population The government collects a mandatory, automatic 2.5 percent zakat (tax) from Sunni Muslims who hold savings accounts in banks. Both passed the recruitment test and had successful interviews but were denied appointment by the assistant manager. According to the constitution and the penal code, Ahmadis may not call themselves Muslims or assert they are adherents of Islam. It distributes the funds through a government-run charity as stipends for poor families and students, payment for medical treatment, and support to Sunni mosques and madrassahs registered with the government. 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. 2020, in July, 2020, Pakistani police arrested three LeJ operatives who were allegedly planning to carry out an attack in . Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology, Office of the U.S. Users are advised to report such content on content-complaint@pta.gov.pk for action under PECA 16 (the 2016 PECA act)., In a January press release, PTA stated it was proactively playing its role in blocking/removal of unlawful content, with social media platforms being approached in this regard, and it encouraged the public to report such content directly to PTA and avoid sharing it on social media platforms and other websites.. In February, a court in Jacobabad, Sindh, ruled that the marriage with Raza was illegal under the 2013 Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act. 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 July 9, the Sindh High Court ordered that the girl could return to her Hindu parents. Following Naseems death, there were a series of additional violent incidents targeting Ahmadis, and Ahmadiyya community members said they felt in more danger than ever before. Any country in which Muslims make up 50% or more of the population is considered a Muslim majority country. According to an unofficial and unverified estimate, between 700 and 5,000 Pakistan Shias from Karachi, Parachinar, and Gilgit-Baltistan, recruited by Iran, went to Syria to fight against the. Pakistan Population 2023 (Live) - worldpopulationreview.com The constitution also grants the FSC revisional jurisdiction (the power to review of its own accord) over criminal cases in the lower courts relating to certain crimes under the Hudood Ordinance, including rape and those linked to Islamic morality, such as extramarital sex, alcohol use, and gambling. Answer (1 of 19): The country Iran has the largest population of Shia. In contrast, even the baseless and fake cases from the other side are being entertained by police, she said. 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. 2. victims of Takfiri terrorism and govt apathy - Tehran Times The penal code bans them from posing as Muslims, using Islamic terms, carrying out Islamic customs, preaching or propagating their religious beliefs, proselytizing, or insulting the religious feelings of Muslims. The punishment for violating these provisions is imprisonment for up to three years and a fine, the amount of which is at the discretion of the sentencing judge. Islam is the largest and the state religion of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. India's Muslims: An Increasingly Marginalized Population 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 1961 Census -- the first in the state after Partition, Muslims constituted 68.3 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir's population. The FSCs review power applies whether the cases involve Muslims or non-Muslims. Shia Hazaras in Quetta, Balochistan, continued to express concern about targeted killings taking place for the last several years. In October, Punjab police arrested three Ahmadis for using Islamic symbols and practices in their mosque. The Shia population in Pakistan is estimated as being 11.8% of the country's population. Police also deployed snipers and used closed-circuit television cameras and metal detectors to ensure the security of churches and Christmas markets. Despite these problems some international organizations have researched and reported some statistics. 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). Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board - IRB 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. 2.4.1 The Shia Muslim population is estimated to be between 20 and 40 million (in . The constitution requires the government to amend the law as directed by the court. Christian activists also stated young women from their communities were vulnerable to forced conversions. 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. Syed Kareem* has been in hiding for weeks. Among the targets of these attacks were Shia Muslims, particularly the predominantly Shia Hazara community. On August 12, armed gunmen attacked the house of Ahmadi Muslim Syed Naeem Ahmad Bashir in the Sahiwal District of Punjab, firing into the courtyard at night, where they reportedly expected the family to be sleeping. The girls family said they feared she had been forced to convert and marry a Muslim. This was part of an increase in anti-Shia activity that month nationwide that included the shooting of a prominent Shia religious leader in Punjabs Mandi Bahauddin District and the shooting of a Shia employee of the National Bank of Pakistan in Islamabad. 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. The constitution prohibits discriminatory admission based on religious affiliation to any governmental educational institution. Now theyre coming up with legislation to eliminate the Shia minority.. Police and security forces throughout the country enhanced security measures during religious holidays in consultation with religious leaders. Shia Population - Worldmapper 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. The information in the following paragraph was provided in a country report on Pakistan by the . The hashtag infidel, infidel, Shias are infidel began trending. The gurdwara had been used as a government-run girls school since 1947. 0.5% Shia, and 0.3% Ahmadi. The wafaqs operate through an umbrella group, Ittehad-e-Tanzeemat-e-Madaris Pakistan, to represent their interests to the government. Similar to the previous year, some Sikh and Hindu places of worship reopened during the year. Sunni Muslims who want to distribute zakat themselves may request an exemption, and Shia Muslims are exempted by filling out a declaration of faith form. 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. The government may use the antiterrorism courts, established as a parallel legal structure under the 1997 Antiterrorism Act, to try cases involving violent crimes, terrorist activities, and acts or speech deemed by the government to foment religious hatred, including blasphemy. Department of State programs, including outreach activities such as speakers and workshops, helped to promote peacebuilding among religious and community leaders. On December 15, the Lahore High Court acquitted a second Christian man, Imran Ghafur Masih, who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2010. Iran's Approach to Embattled Shiites in Pakistan is Different Than in At other times, advocacy groups reported that blasphemy trials were held inside jails for security reasons, in which case the hearings were not public, resulting in a gain in immediate security but a loss of transparency. Population: 233,500,636 (July 2017 est.) The constitution mandates that the government take steps to enable Muslims, individually and collectively, to order their lives in accordance with the fundamental principles and basic concepts of Islam and to promote the observance of Islamic moral standards. He fears if he is seen on the streets of Karachi, the Pakistan city he calls home, he will be a dead man walking. Community leaders continued to state the government did not take adequate action to protect its poorest citizens, including religious minorities, such as Christian and Hindu Dalits, from bonded labor practices. The Sunnis, on the other hand, nurse the fear that they have decisively lost power and things . Other government officials, including Prime Minister Khan, advised Sarwar against signing the bill, according to a Lahore-based journalist. On August 20, attackers attempted to kill Sheikh Nasir Ahmad, an Ahmadi man from the Lalamusa area of central Punjab. The blasphemy charges against Jaffar were followed by anti-Shia rallies throughout the country and at least three rallies in Karachi by Sunni groups on September 11 and 13 attended by thousands of individuals. In addition to addressing a legal gap by providing documentation needed for identity registration, divorce, and inheritance, the Hindu Marriage Acts allow marriages to be voided when consent was obtained by force, coercion, or by fraud. The acts allow for the termination of the marriage upon the conversion of one party to a religion other than Hinduism. Indonesia is the country with the Largest Muslim population in the world. The court may suspend or increase the sentence given by a criminal court in these cases. Pakistan population is equivalent to 2.83% of the total world population. In May, the New York Times reported the issue, which was subsequently raised by international human rights NGOs. Shia-Sunni rift on rise in Pakistan, but Imran Khan govt's silence may Shiite Muslims protest in Karachi, Pakistan, against a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Shikarpur, Pakistan, on Jan. 30, 2015. 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. Shiites are estimated to be 21-35 percent of the Muslim population in South East Asia. Pakistan ranks number 5 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population. These attacks targeted gatherings of Shia individuals. On November 20 in a rural area of Punjab, a teenage boy killed Ahmadi doctor Tahir Ahmad and seriously wounded three of his family members. Unofficial estimates vary widely with regard to the size of minority religious groups. Most Pakistani Sunni Muslims belong to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, which is represented by the Barelvi and Deobandi traditions. The HRCP reported that more than 40 such cases were registered under the blasphemy laws in August alone. NGOs expressed concern about what they stated was the increasing frequency of attempts to kidnap, forcibly convert, and forcibly marry young women from religious minority communities, especially young Hindu and Christian women. There were a series of additional violent incidents targeting Ahmadis following the Tahir Naseem killing in a Peshawar courtroom. The temple had also been part of a government-run school. Shias in Pakistan are geographically spread across the. According to government figures, the remaining 4 percent includes Ahmadi Muslims (whom national law does not recognize as Muslim); Hindus; Christians, including Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Protestants, among others; Parsis/Zoroastrians; Bahais; Sikhs; Buddhists; Kalash; and Kihals and Jains. The two major powers in the Middle East are Saudi Arabia, an Arab population ruled by a Sunni majority, and Iran, a Persian population ruled by a Shia majority. Christian religious freedom activists continued to report widespread discrimination against Christians in private employment. In May, the Cabinet approved a proposal creating a National Commission for Minorities within the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Following petitions, the court reversed its decision and declared the marriage illegal under the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act and ordered the girl placed in a shelter after she refused to return to her parents. The constitution states that no person attending any educational institution shall be required to attend religious instruction or take part in any religious ceremony relating to a religion other than the persons own. The Changing Landscape of Anti-Shia Politics in Pakistan By one estimate, in Pakistan, the Shias are. Qataris are all Muslims and followers of the Sunni Salafi version of Islam. According to Ahmadi Muslim civil society organizations, the government failed to restrict advertisements or speeches inciting anti-Ahmadi violence, as provided for in the National Action Plan. The law also would make desecration (including physical destruction of books or symbols, along with verbal, written, or online actions perceived to be insults) of any prophet, any of the four divine books (the Quran, Torah, Psalms of David, and Gospel of Jesus), any family and companions of the Prophet Mohammed, as well as abetting or glorifying terrorists, or promoting sectarianism in any book, punishable with a maximum of a five-year jail term and a substantial fine of up to 500,000 Pakistani rupees ($3,100). During the year, courts overturned some blasphemy convictions upon appeal and acquitted others after the accused had spent years in prison. Religious freedom activists and civil society groups said the proposal was toothless and raised concerns regarding the ministrys lack of public consultation, the limited powers of the proposed body, and the fact that Ahmadi Muslims were excluded. UAE: Arbitrary Targeting of Pakistani Shia Residents It was the largest anti-Shia march seen in decades in Pakistan, and was copied in other cities including the capital Islamabad. note: provisional results of Pakistan's 2017 national census estimate the country's total population to be 207,774,000. country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 5. Courts issued two new death sentences for blasphemy and sentenced another individual to five years imprisonment. 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. According to civil society reports, there were many individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges and at least 35 under sentences of death, compared with 82 individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges and 29 under sentences of death in 2019. The Punjab Provincial Assembly also unanimously passed a resolution in May insisting that the federal National Commission on Minorities not include a representative from the Ahmadi community until community leaders submitted in writing that they accepted their status as non-Muslims under the constitution. The text messages stated, Sharing of blasphemy, pornography, terrorism, and other unlawful content on social media and the internet is illegal. Sunni Versus Shiite: Countries, History, Impact - ThoughtCo Local authorities did not allow the repair or unsealing of Ahmadi mosques damaged or demolished by rioters in previous years. In a statement, the Pakistan Hindu Council condemned the killing as well as two other July incidents of violence towards Hindu citizens in the district.