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Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan
Political party in Pakistan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan (S.M.P) (Urdu: سپاہ محمد پاکستان; Arabic: سباه محمد الباكستانيه; English: Soldiers of Muhammad) is a Shia organisation and political party in Pakistan turned assassin/militant organization. It has claimed credit for a series of target killings of the leaders of Anti-Shia groups Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.[6][7] It was founded by Pakistani Shia cleric Allama Syed Mureed Abbas Yazdani in 1993 to counter the anti-Shia violence in Pakistan and was headquartered in Thokar Niaz Beg, Lahore.[5]
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History
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Maulana Syed Mureed Abbas Yazdani with his colleagues separated from Tehreek-e-Jafria Pakistan and formed the Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan in 1993 or 1994 in order to protect Shia Muslim community of Pakistan and to counter sectarian violence against the Pakistani Shia Muslims orchestrated by Takfiri deobandi groups such as Sipah-e-Sahaba or Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, It is involved in the assassination of sectarian clerics, activist's and other figures that are responsible for the anti-Shia violence in Pakistan.[8][9]
The formation of Sipah-e-Muhammad was part of a growing wave of Violent anti-shia incidents in Pakistan since 1980s by the sectarian Salafi, Wahabhi and Deobandi groups specifically Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi played a significant role in instigating and carrying out attacks on Shia Muslims, At the end of 1989 following the assassination of Anti-Shia sectarian cleric Haq Nawaz Jhangvi by suspected shia militants, Jhangvi’s killing sparked the armed sectarian conflict in Pakistan between the Shiites and Sunnis of the country as Shia muslim community also pick up guns and formed militias for self defense in order to protect themselves from the Anti-Shia sectarian groups.[10] According to Moulana Munawwar Abbas Alvi, a close colleague of Yazdani and founding member of the Sipah-e-Muhammad, "The Shia youth would have not picked up the weapons if they never have experienced insecurity and persecution from the sectarian groups during the 1980s because the government had failed to provide proper protection to the patriotic Shia muslims of Pakistan and sectarian groups were operating in the country without any restrictions so we had no choice rather then forming militant organizations for the self defense our fight is against sectarian terror groups not the State of Pakistan nor Anti-sectarianist Sunni brothers". [11][12]
It is alleged that the Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan is the armed wing of Tehreek-e-Jafria Pakistan, The main Shiite political party of Pakistan. Its leader was Ghulam Raza Naqvi who was imprisoned in 1996 and released in 2014.[citation needed] Since his death in 2016, it is unclear who leads the group.
Yazdani's nephew Malik Muhammad Wasi Ul Baqar is attempting to take control of Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan.
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Activities
Aim
Sipah-e-Muhammad's primary aim was to target the sectarian leadership of the banned Deobandi terrorist organizations Sipah-e-Sahaba or Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in retaliatory actions for targeting Shia Muslim community.[13] However, with the subsequent rise in the violence against Shia Muslims, it was claimed to be reforming.[clarification needed][14]
The movement has strong presence in the Shia communities in Pakistan, and in the majority Shia town of Lahore, Thokar Niaz Beg , the party ran a "virtual state within a state" mainly in the 1990s it was a stronghold of it.[5]
Target killings and militancy
According to Stanford University "Mapping Militant Organizations writing the "primary methods" of Sipah-e-Muhammad are targeted killings of prominent Anti-Shia figures – the notable targets of such killings of Sipah-e-Muhammad are Zia ur Rehman Farooqi, Azam Tariq, Riaz Basra and Ali Sher Hyderi. The top leaders of Sipah-e-Sahaba or Lashkar-e-Jhangvi were targeted by the Sipah-e-Muhammad for their beliefs and activities against the Shia Muslim community of Pakistan.[4]
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Affiliations
Designation
The Government of Pakistan designated Sipah-e-Muhammad a terrorist organization in 2002;[citation needed] it is classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under U.S. law, [citation needed] and its finances are blocked worldwide by the US government.[citation needed]
See also
References
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