Pakistan: Update to PAK37990.E of 14 November 2001 on the Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), including events surrounding the murder of Maulana Azam Tariq and the status of the SSP since it was banned by the Pakistani government in 2002
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 December 2003 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | PAK42160.E |
| Reference | 7 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Pakistan: Update to PAK37990.E of 14 November 2001 on the Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), including events surrounding the murder of Maulana Azam Tariq and the status of the SSP since it was banned by the Pakistani government in 2002, 1 December 2003, PAK42160.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/403dd20e10.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), also known as the Guardians of the Friends of the Prophet (AP 27 Jan. 2003), is a "radical" (BBC 13 Jan. 2002; ibid. 7 Oct. 2003a), "sectarian" group (FAS 1 May 2003) with "strongholds" in the southern districts of the central province of Punjab and in the city of Karachi (BBC 13 Jan. 2002; ibid. 7 Oct. 2003a). Comprised of "militant Sunni Muslims" (Knight Ridder 21 Jan. 2002), the group would like Pakistan to be officially declared a Sunni Muslim state (ibid.; BBC 7 Oct. 2003a; AFP 7 Oct. 2003) and "ruled by a fundamentalist Islamic regime" similar to the Taliban militia in Afghanistan (Knight Ridder 21 Jan. 2002; see also AFP 7 Oct. 2003). In fact, "[m]any Taliban leaders received instruction in extremism at religious schools in Pakistan run by the SSP" (Knight Ridder 21 Jan. 2002; see also AFP 7 Oct. 2003), and, according to an October 2003 Agence France Press (AFP) article, the SSP continues to run "hundreds of seminaries and religious schools mostly in poverty-ridden parts of the Punjab" (7 Oct. 2003). Furthermore, Associated Press (AP) reported in January 2003 that the SSP is "backed [by] Afghanistan's radical Islamic Taliban militia" (27 Jan. 2003).
Founded by Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi in the early 1980's as a stop against the possibility of the Iranian Shia revolution gaining influence in Pakistan (BBC 7 Oct. 2003a; ibid. 13 Jan. 2002), the SSP, which follows the Deobandi school (see PAK41915.E of 15 September 2003 for information on the Deabandi stream of Sunni Islam), is "[v]iolently anti-Shi'a" (FAS 1 May 2003). Jhangvi was assassinated in 1990, at which time Maulana Azam Tariq became the new leader of the SSP (BBC 7 Oct. 2003a; ibid. 13 Jan. 2002). Reportedly, Tariq "publicly showed his sympathy for Afghanistan's former hardline Islamic Taliban regime" (AFP 7 Oct. 2003).
The SSP, according to The Herald, is an "umbrella" political group, supporting the Jaish-e-Mohammad as its "jihadi" branch and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi as its "domestic militant" branch (Feb. 2002, 35). However, in February 2003, Tariq reportedly denied any link with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, claiming that "'[s]ome members of Sipah-e-Sahaba opposed our peaceful struggle for the enforcement of Islamic laws, and formed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in 1996'," while emphasizing that "'Sipah-e-Sahaba has nothing to do with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi'" (The News 2 Feb. 2003).
Although Tariq consistently maintained that, despite accusations to the contrary, his group has not been involved in violence (BBC 7 Oct. 2003b), the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) indicates that SSP's activities "range from organizing political rallies calling for Shi'as to be declared non-Muslims to assassinating prominent Shi'a leaders" (1 May 2003). According to one news source, the SSP declared Shia Muslims to be "'infidels'" and claimed that they "lack proper piety" (Knight Ridder 21 Jan. 2002).
In 2001, 400 Pakistanis were allegedly killed in sectarian violence, a "significant number" of which have been blamed on the SSP (ibid.). Various news reports published in 2003 refer to the SSP as a violent group (AFP 18 Nov. 2003a) responsible for the sectarian violence that has resulted in the murder of numerous rival Shiite militants and minority Shiite Muslims (AFP 26 Jan. 2003; ibid. 7 Oct. 2003; Times 7 Oct. 2003; BBC 7 Oct. 2003b; AP 10 Oct. 2003; Xinhua 19 Nov. 2003). Although Tariq was "charged with 103 cases of ordering the murders of rival Shiites," he was never convicted (AFP 7 Oct. 2003). BBC describes the group as "one of the most extremist Sunni organisations" in Pakistan (6 Oct. 2003).
On 14 August 2001, the Pakistani government banned several groups considered responsible for sectarian violence and placed the SSP under its watch (Dawn 12 Jan. 2002; The Nation 19 Nov. 2003). For five months following the government's decision there was no significant reduction in the level of sectarian violence in the country, and, as a result, President Pervez Musharraf banned the SSP on 12 January 2002 (Dawn 12 Jan. 2002; The Herald Sept. 2003). Following the ban, Pakistani law enforcement agencies reportedly sealed (Dawn 13 Jan. 2002b) and raided SSP offices (The Press Trust of India 14 Jan. 2002), arrested numerous SSP activists (ibid.; Knight Ridder 21 Jan. 2002; BBC 24 June 2002; Dawn 22 Feb. 2003; ibid. 13 Jan. 2002b) and detained many others (ibid. 13 Jan. 2002a; ibid. 28 Feb. 2002; ibid. 25 June 2002; Pakistan Newswire 19 Jan. 2002;).
In April 2003, Tariq re-established the SSP under a new name, Millat-e-Islamia (The Herald Sept. 2003; The News 19 Nov. 2003; Dawn 20 Nov. 2003; Pakistan Press International 18 Nov. 2003; AFP 18 Nov. 2003b; ibid. 7 Oct. 2003; Times 7 Oct. 2003). Despite the January 2002 ban, the SSP continued to "draw huge amounts of money from its foreign patrons" under its new name (The Herald Sept. 2003). (Please see attached article from The Herald).
On 15 November 2003, the Millat-e-Islamia, along with two other groups, was officially banned by the government (AFP 18 Nov. 2003a; Pakistan Press International 18 Nov. 2003; The Nation 19 Nov. 2003; Xinhua 19 Nov. 2003; The News 19 Nov. 2003) using the 1997 Anti-Terrorist Act (Dawn 20 Nov. 2003). Immediately following the ban, the group's offices were sealed, its prominent activists detained and arrested and its bank accounts seized (although, according to The Nation, there was not a lot of money expected to be in them) (The Nation 19 Nov. 2003). Information corroborating the government's actions against the group following the ban was published by AFP (18 Nov. 2003a; 18 Nov. 2003b), Gulf News (18 Nov. 2003) and by Xinhua News Agency, which added that law enforcement forces had also "raided mosques, homes and militant bases throughout the country" (19 Nov. 2003). In an attempt to "prevent banned extremist groups [from] re-emerging under new names," the Pakistani government also ordered "[n]early 600 activists of [outlawed] militant groups ... to pay security bonds of up to 100,00 rupees (1,725 dollars)" (AFP 19 Nov. 2003).
Maulana Azam Tariq
In October 2001, SSP leader Maulana Azam Tariq was detained under a "public order law" (BBC 31 Oct. 2002) during a "crackdown on extremists following the launch of US-led attacks on Afghanistan's former Taliban regime" (AFP 26 Jan. 2003; see also BBC 13 Jan. 2002; BBC 7 Oct. 2003a; BBC 7 Oct. 2003b). While in custody, he contested the 10 October 2002 elections and won a seat as an independent in the federal parliament for the central Punjab district of Jhang (AFP 26 Jan. 2003; AP 27 Jan. 2003; BBC 8 Oct. 2003; AFP 7 Oct. 2003). Tariq was released from prison on 30 October 2002 (The News 30 Oct. 2002), several days before parliament reconvened in November (AFP 26 Jan. 2003) after the Lahore High Court determined that there were no grounds to justify his continued incarceration (BBC 31 Oct. 2002; ibid. 7 Oct. 2003b).
In the months following his release from prison, Tariq became a supporter of the newly elected government of Zafarullah Khan Jamali (AP 27 Jan. 2003; Times 7 Oct. 2003; BBC 8 Oct. 2003; ibid. 7 Oct. 2003b) though he "still espoused radical anti-Shia views" (ibid.; ibid. 8 Oct. 2003). In fact, on 26 August 2003, he introduced a bill in parliament that provides for the national adoption of Sharia (AFP 7 Oct. 2003).
On 6 October 2003, Tariq was among five people killed by gunmen who allegedly fired up to 80 bullets into the vehicle he was travelling in, while in Islamabad (BBC 6 Oct. 2003; Times 7 Oct. 2003). Immediately following his death, security was increased in Karachi and throughout the province (BBC 6 Oct. 2003; AP 10 Oct. 2003), particularly around places and mosques associated with the SSP (The News 7 Oct. 2003). The next day, "[r]eligious students went on the rampage after funeral prayers" were conducted for Tariq (BBC 7 Oct. 2003b; see also AFP 7 Oct. 2003; AP 10 Oct. 2003). That same day, after prayers for the SSP leader had been held in front of the parliament building in Islamabad, "crowds moved off to a popular shopping and restaurant area where they set fire to a cinema and damaged shops and cars" and set fire to a Shi'a shrine (BBC 7 Oct. 2003b). When Tariq's body was taken to his birth city, Jhang, violence against Shi'as again erupted and a mosque complex was set on fire (ibid.; ibid. 8 Oct. 2003; see also AFP 7 Oct. 2003). Demonstrations in cities across Pakistan also took place on 10 October 2003, with Tariq's followers "demanding the immediate arrest of his killers" (AP 10 Oct. 2003).
On 15 November 2003, Allama Sajid Naqvi, a Shiite Muslim and leader of Tehreek-i-Islami Pakistan, was arrested in Rawalpindi in connection with the murder of Tariq (Windsor Star 17 Nov. 2003; Journal Sentinel 17 Nov. 2003; Gulf News 18 Nov. 2003).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Agence France Presse (AFP). 19 November 2003. "AFP: Pakistan Demands Bonds from Militants Instead of Arrest." (FBIS-NES-2003-1119 20 Nov. 2003/Dialog)
_____. 18 November 2003a. "AFP: Pakistan's Religious Parties Reject Government Ban on Renamed Militant Groups." (FBIS-NES-2003-1118 19 Nov. 2003/Dialog)
_____. 18 November 2003b. "AFP: Pakistan Closes Over 130 Militant Offices in New Anti-Extremist Drive." (FBIS-NES-2003-1118 19 Nov. 2003/Dialog)
_____. 7 October 2003. Rana Jawad. "Assassinated Sunni Muslim Hardliner Had Many Foes." (Dialog)
_____. 26 January 2003. Jalilur Rehman. "AFP: Outlawed Islamic Militant Party Challenges Musharaf's Ban." (FBIS-NES-2003-0126 27 Jan. 2003/Dialog)
Associated Press (AP). 10 October 2003. Khalid Tanveer. "Security Tight Across Pakistan, Authorities Keep Wary Eye on Potential Violence." (Dialog)
_____. 27 January 2003. "Pakistani Islamic Militant Group Challenges Government Ban." (Dialog)
BBC. 8 October 2003. "Pakistan Offers Reward for Killers."
_____. 7 October 2003a. "Pakistan's Militant Islamic Groups."
_____. 7 October 2003b. "Pakistan Riots After Militant Killed."
_____. 6 October 2003. "Pakistani Sunni Militant Killed."
_____. 31 October 2002. "Pakistani MP Freed from Custody."
_____. 24 June 2002. "Pakistani Police Arrest Lahore Members of Sunni Militant Groups." (NEXIS)
_____. 13 January 2002. "Pakistan's Militant Islamic Groups."
Dawn [Karachi]. 20 November 2003. "US Welcomes Crackdown."
_____. 22 February 2003. "Khairpur: 21 Sipah-i-Sahaba Workers Booked."
_____. 25 June 2002. "Over 100 Activists of Banned Outfits Held: FBI Supervises Crackdown in Punjab."
_____. 28 February 2002. "20 Activists of SSP Arrested: Pindi Killings."
_____. 13 January 2002a. "125 Rounded Up in Sindh Interior: Crackdown Against Religious Parties." [Accessed 14 Jan. 2002]
_____. 13 January 2002b. Asif Shahzad. "Crackdown in Punjab."
_____. 12 January 2002. "Text of President Musharraf's Address to the Nation."
Federation of American Scientists (FAS). 1 May 2003. "Sipah-I-Sahaba/Pakistan (SSP)." Para States - Scope Note. John Pike.
Gulf News [Dubai]. 18 November 2003. Abdullah Iqbal. "More Groups Face Ban as Massive Crackdown Starts." (Dialog)
The Herald [Karachi]. September 2003. Mubashir Zaidi. "Back to the Drawing Board."
_____. February 2002. Azmat Abbas. "Tightening the Noose."
Journal Sentinel [Milwaukee, WIS]. 17 November 2003. "Terror/Iraq Briefing." (Dialog)
Knight Ridder [Washington]. 21 January 2002. Michael Dorgan. "Pakistan's Future May Depend on Ability to Quash Religious Militants." (NEXIS)
The Nation [Islamabad]. 19 November 2003. Husain Haqqani. "Pakistan: Author Insists Ban on Militant Outfits Imposed Under Foreign Pressure." (FBIS-NES-2003-1119 20 Nov. 2003/Dialog)
The News [Islamabad]. 19 November 2003. "Pakistan: MMA Leader Terms Ban on Renamed Militant Outfits Attempt to Please US." (FBIS-NES-2003-1119 20 Nov. 2003/Dialog)
_____. 7 October 2003. Azfar-ul-Ashfaque. "Pakistan: Police Step Up Security in Karachi After Azam Tariq's Murder." (FBIS-NES-2003-1007 8 Oct. 2003/Dialog)
_____. 2 February 2003. "Pakistan: Sipah-i-Sahaba Chief Denies Link with Lashkar-i-Jhangvi." (FBIS-NES-2003-0202 3 Feb. 2002/Dialog)
_____. 30 October 2002. Mazhar Tufail. "Pakistan: Report Says Authorities Release Banned SSP's Chief Azam Tariq." (FBIS-NES-2002-1030 31 Oct. 2002/Dialog)
Pakistan Press International. 18 November 2003. "Terrorism (UK Welcomers Crackdown Against Religious Outfits." (Dialog)
The Pakistan Newswire. 19 January 2002. "District: 30 Activists Arrested." (NEXIS)
The Press Trust of India. 14 January 2002. "Pak Intensifies Crackdown as over 1600 Held; Lashkar HQ Sealed." (NEXIS)
Times [London]. 7 October 2003. Zahid Hussain. "Pakistan MP Shot Dead as Extremists Take Their Revenge." (Dialog)
Windsor Star. 17 November 2003. "World Report." (Dialog)
Xinhua News Agency. 19 November 2003. Rong Shoujun. "Xinhua 'Roundup': Pakistan Cracks Down on Renamed 'Extremist Groups.'" (FBIS-CHI-2003-1119 20 Nov. 2003/Dialog)
Attachment
The Herald [Karachi]. September 2003. Mubashir Zaidi. "Back to the Drawing Board."
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB Databases
Internet sources, including:
Amnesty International
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002
European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI)
Human Rights Watch
International Religious Freedom Report 2002
Patterns of Global Terrorism 2002