🇵🇰 REPORT | The Unseen Blood: Shia Persecution in Parachinar (1/5):
The world remains indifferent to the systematic massacre of Afghanistan’s Hazara Shias, Pakistan’s Parachinar Shias, and Kashmiris. Their blood, flowing in silence, attracts little attention due to their “third-country status” and the no reporting of global media (?). The chain of genocide, spanning from Dahiyeh in Beirut, Jabalia in Gaza, Kabul and Bamiyan in Afghanistan, Parachinar in Pakistan, Entire Kashmir, Gujarat and Muzaffarnagar in India and Rakhine in Myanmar, is deliberately ignored, with perpetrators continuing their crimes unchecked. It is time to treat these tragedies with the same urgency as that shown for Gaza—at least now.
Over the past ten days, five Takfiri-Daishi attacks targeted defenseless Shias in Parachinar, a town in northwest Pakistan. This wave of massacre demands accountability. Unfortunately, sectarianism, ingrained in society, leaves the majority of Sunni brethren indifferent. This indifference contrasts sharply with the collective outrage displayed over trivial issues, such as the death of a celebrity, highlighting the normalization of anti-Shia sentiment.
The massacre of Shias in Parachinar, Quetta, and Afghanistan is not a recent phenomenon. It is part of a longstanding global convention of targeted sectarian violence, which has been systematically ignored since the late 19th century. In Parachinar, such violence has deep roots. What often begins as a land dispute evolves into religious persecution. Historically, British colonial powers and local rulers weaponized sectarianism, arming extremist Takfiri chunk among Sunnis to commit to indiscriminate massacres against Shias.
In July 2024, Parachinar witnessed one of its bloodiest incidents. A land dispute between two tribes—Shi’ite Malikhel and Sunni Mangal—in Boshehra village spiraled into a full-blown sectarian conflict. The local battle was started and Pakistan's army's rockets were seen targeting the Shia villages which claimed lives of many children and collectively resulted in the martyrdoms of 45 people and hundreds of injuries. Takfiri-Sunni jihadi groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), escalated the massacre, aided by militants from neighboring Afghanistan.
The atrocities were heinous. Reports emerged of abductions and beheadings, including a child, captured on video and circulated as a grim reminder of the impunity with which these groups operate.
The state, both historically and presently, bears responsibility. Instead of curbing Wahabi-Takfiri extremism, it has allowed anti-Shia rhetoric to fester and jihadi groups to flourish. Extremist organizations like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi specialize in targeting Shias with state complicity, turning land disputes and minor conflicts into sectarian bloodbaths. The silence of global and regional actors is deafening. The lack of outrage, especially from Sunni-majority communities, is disheartening. While people rally behind other causes, the massacre of Shias barely registers. This selective empathy perpetuates cycles of violence.
The blood of Parachinar’s Shias, like that of Hazara Shias and others, should not remain the “cheapest thing.” It’s time for action, awareness, and justice.
#Parachinar
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