By Ishrat Fatima
In Pakistan, Shias are constantly victimized based on sect. A Shia genocide has been happening for decade. According to Pew Research Center report the estimated population of Shia population in Pakistan is 10-15 % of the total population . In Pakistan, between 1987 and 2007, Shia-Sunni sectarian attacks killed an estimated 4,000 people. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), thousands of Shia have been killed by Sunni extremists since 2008. In recent years there have been particularly bloody attacks against Shia professionals by militant groups. Armed militants and terrorist organizations have carried out bombings targeting social gatherings and Shia-populated areas with near impunity. Shrines have also been regularly attacked.
On 4th April 2012, a horrific and brutal incident took place in Chilas Gunar Farm Near Juglot. This incident still carries a fear among the people after many years. The incident where the passengers were stopped and killed brutally because of extremism. One of the witnesses, Mr. Ashiq Hussain, witnessed this incident and barely managed to escape. But, today almost after 10 years, he still has that fear in him that doesn’t let him move freely in Pakistan.
When I interviewed him, he narrated the whole story and said, “I was returning home (Skardu) from Islamabad on 4 April, 2012. I usually travel by air, but that time, twice, my flight got canceled, so I decided to travel by road. I was in Bus. At that time, the security of Police for transport had been strict as many threats were received already. There was a Petrol pump near Chilas, where we pulled our car for fuel. Since we had threats, we moved from there in a hurry. When we moved ahead, there was Gunar Farm in Chilas, where we saw 10 to 12 men blocking the road with logs and bushes. The security van stopped by, and the Police (SP and some Policemen) got off and tried to engage in dialogue but failed. Our bus followed the Police van and stopped, many other vehicles reached there too, and there was a long queue behind our bus.
Meanwhile, I saw a mob rushing towards us shouting “SHIA KAFIR SHIA KAFIR”, for a moment I lost my senses and got numb to see them, I don’t know how I got my feelings back, and mind worked, I threw away my ID card, Debit Card and business card out of the window. They started throwing stones on our buses, so all the passengers got off, the mob attacked passengers and picketed them, they asked all the passengers one by one about their sect checked the ID card to identify the denomination, even shirts were taken off to check the body scars (In the Holy month of Muharram Shias mourn the death of Imam Hussain in a ritual where they self-flagellate receiving body scars mainly when some ardent believers use sharp objects for the act called Zanjeerzani also used to identify them as in this case), “It was solely based on Sectarian Violence”. Shias stood separately, I was also surrounded by a group and asked my Name, I said Ashiq Ullah instead Ashiq Hussain because the HUSSAIN name is widespread among Shias reflecting their association with the family of the prophet (S.A.W). When I was asked to narrate kalma, I could say kalma first. When they asked for my ID card to confirm, I lied and said that it was in my bag on the bus’s roof. THE QUESTION WAS, ARE YOU MUSLIM OR SHIA? When they didn’t see any scar on my back, they confirmed me as Sunni, and one of them said to move me to the Pakistan Hotel, and I was taken to another van where other people belonging to Sunni Sect were segregated. They said we would head towards Gilgit from Chilas, but one of my relatives was in Chilas where I stayed for two days, and then they facilitated my rescue and took me in a helicopter to Gilgit.”
Mr. Ashiq Hussain elucidated that this was purely based on sectarian violence. “My family and friends were distraught.” There were 26 people killed by stoning to death, and it was such a barbarism I experienced in my life. All of them were men who were murdered, and women were crying, and it was such a dreadful sight that one cannot imagine. The people killed were from Skardu, Gilgit Astore, and Hunza. They were just targeting Shia people. They didn’t stop there and set fire to all the vehicles. All my educational documents were burnt too. It was heard later that this incident was led by the speech of a Maulvi in a mosque, where he provoked the mob against Shias.
As I got back home, I called the press and narrated the whole incident. After the incident, some were arrested as a formality, but all were local people from Chilas; only a few were caught, but all the culprits were released based on lack of evidence. Many video clips were out on social media, too, where the faces were shown visibly, and I was never called for any inquiry or investigation process.
When I asked Mr. Ashiq about the aftereffect of this incident, he said that “I was emotionally disturbed which didn’t affect that much or more prolonged. I returned, but many people who succeeded in fleeing remained mentally unstable and got many psychological disorders such as PTSD, Depression, etc.
Similarly, he said, there weren’t any security measures taken by the government. But now, owing to CPEC and Dasu Dam, security is a bit improved because now the government is compelled to do so. However, there are still many gaps.
When I further asked him how he is living his life these days? Is there still any fear which haunts him to reveal his identity or travel alone? Ashiq Hussain reported that “Even after years I couldn’t travel freely after that incident; now I do travel, but I still feel insecure and afraid that such incidents will occur again. The root causes that need to be removed are Intolerance, Religious extremism, Madrassahs where such thoughts are being promoted, hate speeches made in the masjid, and dominance of a particular group”. I asked him how he managed the recovery of all his educational documents? He told me, “I was carrying only some of the documents with me for which I suffered a lot after I lost them ”.
After hearing this horrific incident, it is concluded that our law and force agencies should control the rising sectarian conflict and extremism. Pakistan will be destroyed internally if no such measures are taken for the future and Shias as well as other minority groups would feel insecure and will beg for life here. This needs to be changed and the sectarian violence should need to be over in Pakistan against the Shia community.
