Karachi rattled when thousands of anti-Shiite protesters including demonstrators linked to Sunni extremists rallied in Pakistan’s financial hub on Friday. The masses sparked fears of rising tensions between the Muslim groups that may unleash a new round of riots across the country..

 

The mass protests were due to a raft of blasphemy accusations against major Shiite leaders in Pakistan after a televised broadcast of an Ashura procession in August showed clerics and participants allegedly making disparaging remarks about historical Islamic figures.

 

Social media was filled with posts, stunning photographs and videos of the the protest, in which a sea of protestors was seen chanting "Shias are Kaffir" (disbelievers) and holding banners of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a terrorist organisation, linked to the killing of Shias over the years. The hashtag #ShiaGenocide soon began trending on Pakistani social media.

 

 

"Since the start of Muharram, we have seen numerous Shia believers targeted for reciting religious scriptures and partaking in Ashura commemorations. This demonstration should not be taken lightly when our brothers and sisters are being kidnapped and killed for their beliefs," Afreen said in a tweet.

 

The activist said that Prime Minister Imran Khan should be held accountable as his government is supporting hate speech against Shia Muslims. She also said she was told that there was a demand to proscribe Ashura processions in Pakistan.

 

"Some years ago, Shias in Pakistan were receiving anonymous text messages that said 'kill the Shia'. Terrorists hurled grenades where Ashura processions were taking place. The Shia in Kashmir and Kabul are also under siege and yet some still believe #ShiaGenocide is a myth," Afreen said in another tweet.

 

Friday’s demonstration in Karachi saw thousands of protesters rally near the tomb of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, where participants chanted “infidels” and “God is the greatest.” Qari Usman from the Islamist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam political party during a speech said, “we will not tolerate any more defamation.”

 

 

Speaking of Blasphemy in Pakistran, it is a hugely sensitive issue where laws can even carry the death penalty for anyone deemed to have insulted Islam or Islamic figures. Even unproven allegations have led to mob lynchings and vigilante murders.

 

Riots have erupted in fits and bursts for decades in Pakistan, with homegrown anti-Shiite terror groups bombing shrines and targeting Ashura processions. Thousands were killed in the previous decade sparking a fierce crackdown by security forces in 2015 which resulted in a dramatic drop in violence.

 

The crackdown culminated in July 2015 when Malik Ishaq — the chief of the banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) — was killed in an encounter with police along with 13 fellow militants. The shootout mostly wiped out the top leadership of LeJ, a driving force in the violence targeting Shiites, who make up around 20 percent of Pakistan’s population.