![]() ![]() This puts Pakistan in a unique dilemma that is, caught in a Saudi-Iran sectarian tug of war. It is also home to the second largest Shia population in the world. Pakistan, the second largest Muslim country in the world, has a predominantly Sunni population. This puts Pakistan in a Catch-22 situation whereby any appeasement or closeness towards Saudi Arabia or Iran exacerbates the sectarian fault lines within its borders. Likewise, the Sunni extremists and Islamist groups in Pakistan identify themselves with Saudi Arabia, underscoring the polarization of Muslims in the country. Given their alienation at home, some Turis and Hazaras associate with the larger Shia community, epitomized by an artificial identity construct of Iran-led ‘Shiastan.’ Iran, being the champion, benefactor and protector of Shia Islam in the world, has also expressed empathy for, and at times has extended support to the two groups. This, in turn, has resulted in the politicization and militarization of Shia identity to defend their group’s interests. ![]() This discrimination and ostracism has created a salient Shia identity, leading to their marginalization and the sharpening of their sectarian markers. The two communities have borne the brunt of anti-Shia militancy in Pakistan, compelling them to live in ghettoised settlements and dwellings. The involvement of the Turis and Hazara Shia volunteers in the Zaynabiyoun is significant. Though the Zaynabiyoun fighters are chiefly tasked with the responsibility of protecting the shrine of Zaynab, they also fight on behalf of the Assad regime against the Sunni militants. This, among other factors, makes Syria an important country for Shia Islam and an attack on Syria is considered a direct threat to the Shia sect itself.Īs such, over a thousand Shiites from Pakistan, principally from the Shia Turi tribe of Kurram tribal region and the ethnic Hazaras from Quetta, have travelled to Syria to join the Iranian-backed Shia militia, Liwa Zaynabiyoun (Followers of Zaynab Brigade). Syria is home to a number of holy sites endeared by Shiites, including the shrine of Zaynab, the granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad. The Syrian Civil War, particularly the attack on the shrine of Zaynab in Damascus in 2013, evoked a profound sense of Shia consciousness among an overzealous segment of Pakistan's Shia community. Significance of Syrian Civil War in Pakistan’s Sectarian Discord Pakistan's predicament has become even more complicated in light of the recent Trump-led Arab Islamic American Summit. Pakistan finds itself between its oil-rich ally, Saudi Arabia, and its neighbor, Iran. The Saudi-Iran rivalry, which has sectarian undertones and is partly responsible for the continuing Syrian civil war, does not bode well for Pakistan’s sectarian fault lines. As such, the April 25 incident cannot be divorced from the December 2015 attack by LeJ-A in Parachinar, a “warning” to local Shiites to stop aiding “the crimes against Syrian Muslims by Iran and Bashar al Assad.” At the heart of these worrisome developments is the intractable Syrian conflict. The emergence of IS in Pakistan’s complex militant landscape and IS-linked attacks in league with anti-Shia militant factions, such as JuA, Jundullah and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami (LeJ-A), are ominous developments, especially insofar as Sunni-Shia sectarian relations are concerned. In the last two years, JuA has worked in tandem with the IS to target Shiites across Pakistan. JuA, which splintered from the Pakistani Taliban in 2014, espouses a virulent anti-Shia ideology that considers them deviants from mainstream Islam. On April 25, 2017, a deadly attack carried out by a pro-Islamic State (IS) terrorist group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) targeting the Shia Muslims in Pakistan’s Kurram tribal region killed 14 people. Are religious doctrinal differences primarily responsible for stoking intercommunal fear and hatred? What roles have state, sub-state and transnational actors played in fomenting sectarian discord? And what could be done to avert sectarian violence, to foster tolerance and peaceful coexistence? The essays in this series tackle these and other questions pertaining to sectarianism in the MENA and Asia. ![]()
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