Explained: Shia vs Sunni in the killing fields of Pakistan’s Kurram

Sectarian killings are reasonably communal successful Pakistan, and Kurram has a past of unit rooted successful pervasive governance failures, tribal rivalries, and outer geopolitical influences.

Shias and Sunnis successful Kurram

Kurram is adjacent to the Afghan provinces of Logar, Paktia, Khost, and Nangarhar to the southbound and eastbound of Kabul, and has aggregate borderline crossings on the 192-km Durand Line to its west, including the historical Peiwar Kotal walk done which the shortest way to the Afghan superior passes.

More than 99% of Kurram’s 7.85 lakh colonisation (2023 census) are Pashtuns belonging to the Turi, Bangash, Zaimusht, Mangal, Muqbal, Masuzai, and Parachamkani tribes. The Turi and immoderate Bangash are Shia, the remainder are Sunni.

According to a presumption made earlier Pakistan’s Election Commission successful 2018, Shias marque up astir 45% of the district’s population, much than thrice their 10-15% stock successful Pakistan’s colonisation arsenic a whole. The bulk of Shias unrecorded successful Upper Kurram tehsil; Sunnis predominate Lower and Central Kurram.

Upper Kurram has acold amended literacy and economical improvement indicators than the Sunni-dominated tehsils. Bagan, connected the way from the territory office of Parachinar to the Peshawar provincial headquarters, is successful Lower Kurram.

Fault lines that persisted

The Shia Turi erstwhile controlled overmuch of the onshore successful what is present Upper and Lower Kurram, but are present mostly restricted to Upper Kurram. According to immoderate estimates, arsenic overmuch arsenic 83% of the tehsil’s colonisation is Shia (Turi and immoderate Bangash).

Sectarian tensions are often an hold of persistent tribal rivalries and contention for resources successful a portion not blessed with abundance. The usage of patronage and bribery by the British to “control” the northwestern frontier benefitted definite tribes and clans astatine the outgo of others, which led to deep-seated grievances that proceed to aboveground successful the signifier of onshore disputes.

Even aft the British left, not overmuch changed successful the mode the portion was ruled. Kurram became portion of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), wherever aboriginal 20th period laws applied until arsenic precocious arsenic 2018, erstwhile FATA was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Developments successful the 80s

Three almost-simultaneous developments during the Cold War played a relation successful shaping today’s tensions.

The Islamic Revolution and instauration of a Shia theocracy successful Iran successful 1979 gave emergence to geopolitical contention betwixt Saudi Arabia and Iran. Kurram became a proxy battleground, with the Iranians and the Saudis backing the Shia and Sunni groups respectively. It was astatine this clip that aged tribal responsibility lines began to presume an overtly sectarian character.

Second, and much important, was the decade-long Soviet-Afghan War of 1979-89, during which Kurram became a launching pad for the US-backed mujahideen, arsenic good arsenic the refuge for (mostly Sunni) Afghans fleeing the conflict. The warfare triggered a rhythm of events that yet led to the emergence of assorted equipped groups and militias successful Kurram.

Over the past 3 decades, respective militant groups including the anti-Shia Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and Islamic State, person made Kurram their base, moving backmost and distant crossed the porous borderline with Afghanistan, and utilizing the distant mountainous terrain to their advantage.

The policies of Gen Zia-ul-Haq, the subject ruler of Pakistan from 1977 to 1988, is the 3rd important humanities improvement that contributed to the contiguous concern successful Kurram. Sunni Islamisation was the centrepiece of Zia’s governmental project, and it gave emergence to sectarian tensions crossed Pakistan. In Kurram, Zia utilized the influx of Sunni Afghan refugees to weaken the Shia Turi.

Continuing clashes, violence

All these factors triggered intermittent sectarian unit successful Kurram, particularly aft the emergence of the Afghan Taliban implicit the past 3 decades. The TTP has tapped into section grievances astir the deficiency of governance and development, portion feeding disconnected existing sectarian divisions.

Between 2007 and 2011, much than 2,000 people, some Shia and Sunni, were killed, much than 5,000 were injured, and tens of thousands were displaced, according to authoritative Pakistan authorities data. This twelvemonth has seen bloodshed since precocious July erstwhile a onshore quality betwixt the Mali Khel, a sub-tribe of the Shia Turi, and the chiefly Sunni Madgi Kalay people successful an country southbound of Parachinar led to the killings of astir 50 people.

Tightened information measures and restrictions connected question person failed to halt repeated tit-for-tat attacks ever since.