Sectarianism proceeds to be a difficult difficulty in Gilgit-Baltistan, a area situated in northern Pakistan, generating peace a distant aspiration for the nearby population. Regardless of a time period of relative serene, the region is now as soon as all over again dealing with intense sectarian clashes.
Demographically, the estimated populace of one.5 million in the location is composed of four distinct denominations of Islam, namely Shiite (39 for every cent), Sunni (27 per cent), Ismaili (eighteen for every cent), and Noorbakshi (sixteen for every cent). It offers a multitude of ethnic and linguistic groups, numbering no a lot less than twenty-four.
Religiously enthusiastic violence has emerged as a fairly new phenomenon in Gilgit-Baltistan. This event can be attributed to a combination of components, specifically demographic transformations, and elevated exposure to religious extremism prevalent in mainland Pakistan. It is important to figure out that Gilgit-Baltistan has not remained unaffected by sizeable situations these as the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, the policy of Islamization pursued underneath Common Zia-ul-Haq’s leadership in Pakistan, and the Afghan jihad through the 1980s. These historical occurrences have had a long lasting effect on the spiritual landscape of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Notably, in the mountainous location, Gilgit Baltistan, traditionally, the emphasis placed on ethnic and tribal identities alongside longstanding social connections outweighed the significance hooked up to sectarian affiliations.
Just before the aforementioned countrywide and global geopolitical developments, the men and women of the region coexisted harmoniously. My father often recounted tales of fraternity among the Shia and Sunni populations in the area. Specially, Shia moms in Gilgit’s city space applied to generously hunting after the Sunni little ones and vice versa. However, this after peaceful metropolis has now come to be a breeding ground for sectarian conflicts.
Chronological examine on the sectarian violence in the Gilgit Baltistan illustrates that in 1975, the very first incident of sectarian violence took put in Gilgit city. All through a Shia Muharram procession, shots were being fired at the participants from a Sunni mosque. This led to the arrest of a Sunni religious leader, which in turn sparked riots in Sunni areas situated in the Indus valley, south of Gilgit, as effectively as in the nearby valleys of Gor, Darel, and Tangir. The Sunnis from these regions threatened to launch an attack on Gilgit. Afterwards, in 1983, a sectarian clash occurred owing to a disagreement around the sighting of the moon. This disagreement pertained to the timing of the conclude of Ramadan, a month-lengthy fasting interval, and the commencement of Eid festivities.
In 1988, a spiritual militia named mujahedeen, comprising of a substantial quantity of fighters (estimated to be around eighty thousand by some accounts), invaded Gilgit. This invasion resulted in a tragic incident in which extra than 7 hundred customers of the Shia group were brutally killed and several Shia villages ended up ruined by fire. Shia neighborhood of the region try to remember these killings as ‘Jalalabad Massacre’.
Rapidly ahead to the 2nd 10 years of 21st century, on February 28, 2012, a tragic incident transpired on the Karakoram Highway in the Kohistan district where by eighteen Shia pilgrims had been ruthlessly and publicly murdered although on their journey back again from Iran. Further, on three April 2012 a further attack left 20 killed in Chilas.
Next the sectarian-based bloodshed marketing campaign in 2012, the area enjoyed a 10 years of relative tranquility, with only insignificant confrontations occurring principally on a verbal degree. Nonetheless, setting up in late August 2023, the region was engulfed in sectarian tensions right after a Shia cleric manufactured derogatory remarks about the Sahaba Karam (Companions of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH) during a Muharam procession in Skardu Baltistan. Due to the fact then, each passing working day has been marked by ongoing protests in Gilgit Baltistan. As a outcome, the community governing administration manufactured a official request to deploy the military and paramilitary forces in order to safeguard the significant urban locations of Gilgit Baltistan. The lasting and rapid outcomes on the socio-financial sphere of Gilgit Baltistan are visible.
De-tourism tops the record of damaging repercussions resulting from sectarian clashes. Gilgit Baltistan, known as a key vacation spot for both equally domestic and intercontinental tourists, has suffered from the ongoing tensions and hostile attitudes among diverse sects. As a outcome, visitors are unwilling to pay a visit to the area, major to vacant inns even during the peak tourism months of August and September. As a result, the tourism sector is greatly impacted by sectarianism, posing excellent issues.
In addition to tourism, the IT sector has recognized a robust existence in the region. Both equally boys and ladies are engaged in freelancing to earn money, which encourages them to stay in the location instead of traveling to mainland Pakistan. Even so, the wave of sectarian tensions has negatively influenced freelancers, as the net company has been disrupted throughout the area.
Lastly, in the previous 10 years, there was progress in bridging the divide involving Shia and Sunni communities at a societal degree. Having said that, it seems that this hole is now widening as soon as once more. For that reason, it is achievable for the sociopsychology of men and women to be affected by feelings of hatred, a feeling of otherness, and enmity.
[Passu Cones, Gilgit Baltistan. Photo by Mobeen Saeed, via Wikimedia Commons]
Deedar Karim belongs to Hunza, Gilgit Baltistan. He is now doing work as a Study Associate at the South Asia Instances. The views and views expressed in this post are those of the creator.
