Historically Sindh and Punjab have been very tolerant, people from different have been coming and making these provinces as their home. With the reason people after a few generations identify themselves with the province. Like in Punjab we have Kashmiris, Pashtuns, baloch, Arabs, Turks and afghans living side by side and then different religions living together (there might be some discrimination against minorities especially during the past few decades but I’ll not be discussing that here). Overall the people of Punjab (and sindh) are mostly affiliated with the barelvi sect, which does not believe in violence. So how did Lashkar e jhangvi (a sectarian outfit) come to being in a province which is well known for its Sufi saints? We need to remember that both SSP and LEJ were created in Punjab, and we have had a very bad experience with sectarianism in the late 80’s/90’s it’s now that these groups are making inroads into other provinces. What was the reason for these outfits to be formed in Punjab and whats the significance of jhang?
Re: Lashkar e jhangvi
Saudi sponsored military (Zia) supported groups IMO
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Yes but there is more to that, I think the land owners in that area are mainly Shias and maybe the groups started due to the jealousy.
Re: Lashkar e jhangvi
Yes. The area remained under Sufi influence for long. Even the folk tale of Heer Ranjha belonged to this area. Chenab is not far from Jhang, so the area also belonged to Sohni Mehwal. What happened to that land, which produced such characters?
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Lashkar-e-jhangvi is against shia??
Re: Lashkar e jhangvi
Page 279 of this book:
During Zia’s islamization drive the Iranians started backing shia groups, and to counter that Zia propped up sectarian groups. Another part in the sectarianism was the rapid urbanization of Punjab in the 80’s with a rising middle class, and the land owners especially in Jhang (like Abida Hussain, Faisal Saleh hayat etc) were shias. This is another reason I think why particularly this phenomena rose from Jhang.
Socio-political context of Jhang for RCSS Policy Studies 9
On the one hand, there is the presence of the traditional feudal families, who have historically commanded nearly complete control of political leadership of the district; on the other hand, there are the merging middle classes, which are mostly urban-based, comprising largely of migrant traders and artisans. These middle classes seek political recognition, but find themselves blocked by the wall of feudal dominance. Given that the feudal leadership is primarily Shia, while the majority of the population Sunni, and themajority of the emerging middle classes Deobandi or Ahl-i-Hadith Sunni, the latter have adopted the sectarian platform to confront Shia feudal power. In this context, although the overt battle lines are sectarian, the underlying cause of sectarianism is a class struggle.
Yes Lashkar e jhangvi and SSP both, and I have had some friends from Jhang and they are really against shias want to understand the reason for that.
Re: Lashkar e jhangvi
The political scene of Jhang was completely dominated by the Shia feudal lords until 1970, as no Sunni could become a member of the central assembly, not to speak of becoming a federal minister. It was, despite the fact that in almost every election after 1947, sectarian identities were invoked to dislodge feudal lords who happened to be Shias. It was partly because the electoral constituencies were too big for the feudal lords of the lower tier, who included Sunnis also, toeffectively campaign and win elections. The very powerful and well-connected Shia feudal lordshad inherent advantage over others. Coupled with this was the fact that the middle class by thenwas very small and could not challenge the monopolies on political power on their own.Consequently, the small middle class, muhajirs among them being visibly active, chose tosupport Sunni feudal lords in the hope that they would be more responsive to their interests and concerns.
The sectarian differences notwithstanding, the socio-political context of Jhang was such that theonly way to break the dominance of the Shia feudal lords was to play on anti-Shia sentiment. To confront feudalism directly was next to impossible, in view of the fact that majority of population took it as something natural, about which they could not do anything. On the otherhand, it was easier to mobilise them in the name of Islam, which had always been very close totheir heart, even for those who were otherwise not very religious.
The imposition of Fiqah-i-Jafria in Iran by Khomeini and the fear of a revolution spilling overinto the neighbouring countries led the Arab World, particularly Iraq and Saudi Arabia, to aconfrontation with Tehran. This perceived fear engaged Iran and Saudi Arabia "in a proxy warfor religio-political influence and clout in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and in the newly independentMuslim republics of Central Asia." These regional developments further contributed to the already deteriorating Shia-Sunni relations in Pakistan under Zia. It was, therefore, nocoincidence that TNFJ was formed in 1979, the year when Zia imposed zakat and the revolutionoccurred in Iran. Such developments at the national and international level were bound to haveserious implications for Jhang, which was under the strong clutches of the Shia feudal lords andwhich had a history of sectarian strife. Though not a cause in themselves, they acted as stimuliand triggered a process of formation of sectarian parties and eruption of violent incidents. In thefollowing years, the Sunni religious leadership in the district became highly critical of Shias,TNFJ and Iranian Revolution. Funds from external sources such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iranalso allegedly started pouring in.
Re: Lashkar e jhangvi
The formation of TNFJ in 1979 constitutes a watershed in the sectarian history of Pakistan.Formed in retaliation to Zia’s Islamization program and the psychological boost received fromthe Iranian Revolution, it soon became popular in the Shia community of Pakistan. It first testedits muscles in 1980 when thousands of its followers besieged the Federal Secretariat inIslamabad to protest against the imposition of zakat on Shias which, they argued, the state wasnot authorised to administer under their fiqah. The Martial Law regime had to concede on two of their major demands: (a) exemption from zakat, and (b) separate Islamiat syllabi for the Shiastudents in schools and colleges. Hence, the TNFJ established its credentials of being a potentreligio-political force. An increasing number of Shias, especially ulema and khateebs, joinedTNFJ in the following years. For the first time, a nation-wide Shia party had emerged toarticulate and promote Shia interests in Pakistan.
The first place which got most affected by the increased sectarian tensions and violence underthe influence of the developments outlined above in the region and at the state level was Jhang.In September 6, 1985, Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, a Deobandi alim of JUI (F), foundedAnjuman Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (ASSP), later renamed as Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) inJhang. It was the first organized Sunni party with the exclusive professed objective to defend the"honour of Sahaba" and counter, what Maulana Jhangvi perceived as the increasing Shiaactivism under the impact of the Iranian Revolution. He used the pulpit formally andaggressively to demand the state to declare Shias non-Muslims. He also demanded that Pakistan,with majority Sunni population, be declared a Sunni state as, with Shia majority, Iran was a Shiastate. He resented that, while in Iran no Sunni was allowed under the constitution to hold keystate offices, no such restrictions were placed on Shias in Pakistan. The objectives of the creationof SSP included (a) to struggle against rafiziyat, (b) to struggle for the acceptance of Sunnidemands, especially to declare Shias non-Muslims, within legal and constitutional parameters,and (c) to make sincere efforts for the unity of Sunni sects.
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That seems convincing if we compare it with the situation in Sindh. While there is a mix of both Sunni- Shia population (majority being Barelvi Sunni), the landloreds / feudals also belong to both the sects. Normally, the sect of the population and feudals in an area are the same, which avoids any confrontation and use of sectarianism.
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Zia always comes out like "a bit more ablout" than I know about him:)
Re: Lashkar e jhangvi
Zia always comes out like "a bit more ablout" than I know about him:)
You should read 'A case of exploding mangoes' to avoid such shocks :D
Re: Lashkar e jhangvi
very informative posts Ali Syed!
I didnt know much about the background of Lashkare-Jhangvi!
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is it true that Lashkare-Jhagvi is divided in two different groups?
why is that government is not launching a crackdown against these monsters? do they remain underground, is it hard to track them down?
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they have killed hundreds of top Shia Ulema, Doctors and engineers in the last 20 years, and now they have started to attack common Shias in various different parts of Pakistan! are they stronger than in 90's and early 2000's?
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some of the recent killings carried by Lashkare-Jhangvi
*2012
*
May 22: Central Jail Mach Warden Shaukat Ali Kethran was shot dead by unidentified armed militants in Mach tehsil of Bolan District. The attackers managed to flee after the attack. No outfit claimed responsibility for the attack. A few days back, a jail warden was killed in Quetta and LeJ claimed responsibility for the killing.
May 16: CID of the Sindh Police claimed to have arrested a militant of LeJ, identified as Nawaz Khan alias Shah Jee, and recovered five kilogrammes explosive material, three detonators, seven metres, detonating wires and a TT pistol and weapons from his possession during a raid at Sohrab Goth Bus Stop, Super Highway. SSP Fayyaz Khan said during the interrogation, he confessed that the recovered explosive was being shifted to Karachi (Sindh) from Waziristan in (FATA) for attacks on rival sect's members.
April 24: The two militants killed in an encounter near Hazara Town in Akhtarabad area of Quetta on April 23, 2012 have been identified as Hafiz Naseer and Hafiz Wazir Ali alias Ali Sher Haideri, the spokesperson of LeJ. City Police Officer Amir Mohammad Dasti told said that the Government had earlier announced a bounty on Hafiz Naseer. The group has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks targeting Shia Muslims in the province.
April 22: Officials of the FC claimed to have arrested three suspected militants belonging to TTP and LeJ during a rand on a small house near the Hazara graveyard in the Brewery Road area of Quetta.
April 16: A spokesman for the LeJ, Ali Sher Haidri, claimed responsibility for the series of attacks on Hazaras in the past two weeks.
February 2: The Muzaffargarh District administration issued a notice to the District Police banning entry of LeJ leader Malik Ishaq into the Muzaffargarh District for three months after he was released from Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore District on January 21, 2011. Ishaq, accused in 44 cases involving 70 killings, has been acquitted in 34 cases and granted bail in another 10. He was released after a Lahore High Court review board denied an extension to his detention under Maintenance of Public Order Law.
January 20: Police registered a case against 15 persons for their alleged involvement in the January 15 bomb blast at a chehlum procession of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) in Khanpur. The Chief of LeJ, Malik Muhammad Ishaq, Shafiq Dahar, Ghulam Muhammad, Muhammad Yaqoob, Muhammad Usman and 10 unidentified people have been nominated in the FIR, which was registered under the Anti-terrorism Act. The FIR has been registered on the complaint of Imdad Hussain of Mauza Jetha Bhatha.
A Pakistani judicial review board ended the house arrest of Malik Ishaq who was detained in 2011 after his group was blamed for a string of attacks on the minority Shia community. The three-member review board headed by Lahore high court justice Nasir Saeed set aside the Punjab Government's plea that Ishaq's detention should be extended for maintaining law and order in the province. The law officer of the Punjab Home Department argued that there had been a spike in sectarian violence against Shias since Ishaq was freed from prison last year.January 12: The CID of Sindh Police claimed to have arrested a militant of LeJ, identified as Riyaz Ahmed alias Riyaz Afghani alias Zahid Hussain Gilgiti from Hub River Road in Karachi and recovered two hand grenades, one repeater and two pistols from his possession. SP Mashwani said Ahmed was the most wanted terrorist and Sindh Government had tagged PKR 0.5 million reward on his arrest. He said that the accused was involved in several heinous crimes all over Pakistan. The SP said Ahmed was involved in sending funds to his organisation and also provided help to arrested militants.
During his interrogation, he confessed that he had given money to Usman Choto for killing of Shia leader in Karachi but Choto was arrested before committing the crime. Officer said the accused name was also listed in CID Red Book list and added that he further confessed that he was involved in several surveillances of those people who were killed in target killings.
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they have such immense hatred for Shias, it seems like they want to make Pakistan a Sunni state and they are daydreaming that by killings Shias, they will force them to leave Pakistan!
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Sheikh Wikipedia says Riaz Basra broke off of SSP and created LeJ. Anybody have more information about Basra?
Groups like LeJ truly want to eradicate Shias from Pakistan while majlis wahdat ul muslimeen & TNFJ type groups wish to export the Iranian Revolution to Pakistan. No idea what will happen..
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You should read 'A case of exploding mangoes' to avoid such shocks :D
Available, prices only Rs 200 written by Muhammad Hanif:)
Re: Lashkar e jhangvi
Available, prices only Rs 200 written by Muhammad Hanif:)
I think its also available online for free :D. Not a big novel.
PS: Muhammad Hanif's wife 'Nimra Bucha' is a talented actress.
Re: Lashkar e jhangvi
I think its also available online for free :D. Not a big novel.
PS: Muhammad Hanif's wife 'Nimra Bucha' is a talented actress.
Online reading is difficult, I never read in kindle too.During Zia's time Indira wanted to attack Pakistan after Opertion Bluestar to blame Pakistan of insurgency in Punjab,this would have fetched some votes in Punjab and entire India:). Zia went on with peace offensive with India by not supporting any terrorist and promoting peace,he outmatched the great one. Indira never knew that Zia's legacy was self destructing though, sometimes it sounds good that she died early before giving anymore trouble:D