Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan

History

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan was formed in 1985 by Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, Ziya ur-Rahman Faruqi, Isar-ul-Haq Qasmi, Azam Tariq in 1985 originally as Anjuman Sipah-e-Sahaba in Jhang, Pakistan.

The original purpose was to fight Shi'ite landlords dominance in Jhang and surrounding areas in a majority Sunni population. Later, they became violent and started to attack Shi'ite Muslims. From 1980s, they are involved in various militant activities, during which they had killed hundreds of Shias throughout Pakistan. They are operating all over Pakistan and are politically active having large vote bank in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). They are widely organized and have more than five hundred offices throughout country. A leader of the organization was a minister in the coalition Government in Punjab in 1993 and the group has held seats in the Pakistan National Assembly.

The organization's leadership has been subject to a series of assassinations. Founder Haq Nawaz Jhangvi was killed by Shi'a militants in 1990; his successor, Isar ul-Haq Qasmi, was assassinated a year later in 1991. The next leader, Zia ur Rehman Farooqi, was killed in a bomb explosion at the Lahore Session Court on 19 January 1997, after which leadership passed to Azam Tariq.

The group's decision to cease militant activities and pursue a political path in 1996 under Ziya ur-Rahman and Azam Tariq led to internal dissent. A significant faction of hardline members, opposing this shift, splintered from the group to establish the more radical Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

In 2002, Pervez Musharraf government declared the group as terrorist organization and banned it. However, later, they renamed it and relaunched it under the name of Millat-e-Islamiyya Pakistan. They were again banned in 2003.

Azam Tariq was also assassinated along with four others on 6 October 2003 in an attack widely attributed to the Shi'a militant organization Sipah-e-Muhammad. After his assassination, Ali Sher Hyderi was selected as the president and Khalifa Abdul Qayyum was appointed as sarparast-e-aala (Patron). they also changed their name to Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat. At least as of 2014 it was still using ASWJ.

Ali Sher Haideri, led the group until he was assassinated in an ambush in 2009 on the outskirts of Khairpur, Sindh. Then Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi was selected as sarparast-e-aala with Awrangzib Faruqi as the president and chief of the organization. Faruqi took part in the 2024 Pakistani general election on NA-230.

The group operates throughout Pakistan and maintains political activity across several regions. It holds a particularly strong political base in Jhang, led by its primary political leader, Moavia Azam, and in Karachi, where its leadership was initially held by Abdul Ghafoor Nadeem and Salim Khatri before being passed to Aurangzaib Farooqi. The organization also commands a significant vote bank in the provinces of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They are widely organized and have more than five hundred offices throughout country. The founder's son, Masroor Nawaz Jhangvi, was also a member of the Punjab Assembly, serving from January 2017 until May 2018.

Etymology

The organization was founded as Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP). It has undergone several name changes, particularly in response to legal bans. Following a state ban in 2002, it operated as Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan until 2005, after which it reorganized under its current name, Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat (ASWJ).

Ideology and goals

The SSP is driven by a rigid interpretation of Deobandi Islam that considers Shias and non-Deobandi Sunnis heretical. "If Islam is to be established in Pakistan," SSP leader Azam Tariq once said, "then Shias must be declared infidels".

Leadership

• Haq Nawaz Jhangvi (September 1985 to February 22, 1990): Assassinated
• Isar-ul-Haq Qasmi (February 1990 to January 1991): Assassinated
• Ziya ur-Rahman Faruqi (1991 to January 18, 1997): Assassinated
• Azam Tariq (January 1997 to October 6, 2003): Assassinated
• Ali Sher Hyderi (October 2003 to August 17, 2009): Assassinated
• Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi (August 2009 to 2014)
• Awrangzib Faruqi (2014 to present)

Activities

Organizational infrastructure

According to a 2004 report, the organization had 500 offices and branches in all provinces of Pakistan including Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. It also had approximately 300,000 registered workers in Pakistan and 17 branches in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Canada and the United Kingdom.

According to Jamestown Foundation reporting in 2005, the organization has a support base of tens of thousands and was estimated to include up to 6,000 "trained and professional cadres", some of whom have been implicated in sectarian violence. It is also reported to maintain around 17 branches in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Canada, and the United Kingdom, describing the SSP as "the largest and most pervasive Sunni supremacist organization in the world."

Target killings and militancy

According to Stanford University's "Mapping Militant Organizations" as of February 2012, the "primary methods" of Sipah-e-Sahaba

Sipah-e-Sahaba was commonly connected to attacks including massacres, targeted killings, and inspiring lone wolf terrorist attacks against Shias, Ahmadis, and even rival Barelvi Sunnis.

Sipah-e-Sahaba was alleged to have involved in the 1998 killing of Iranian diplomats in Afghanistan.

Sipah-e-Sahaba was involved in many conflicts on the side of Sunni Islamists including the Soviet–Afghan War, Afghan Civil War (1989–1992), Afghan Civil War (1996–2001), War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), Taliban insurgency, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Insurgency, Balochistan Insurgency, Kashmir insurgency, MQM militancy, and the Sectarian violence in Pakistan. It was known, (in these conflicts), for gathering Pakistani volunteers, particularly from Pakistan's Eastern provinces, and also for its anti-Shia rhetoric and activities.

Publications

Its regular publications include the monthlies Khilafat-e-Rashida, Aab-e-Hayat and Genius.

Affiliations

• In 1996 elements within the Sipah-e-Sahaba, who did not believe the organization was violent enough, left to form the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
• In October 2000, Masood Azhar, founder of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed, was quoted as saying that "Sipah-e-Sahaba stands shoulder to shoulder with Jaish-e-Muhammad in Jihad." A leaked U.S. diplomatic cable described Jaish-e-Mohammed as "another Sipah-e-Sahaba breakaway Deobandi organization."
• A diplomatic cable, originally dated 23 October 2009 and later leaked to the media, from the U.S. embassy in Islamabad indicated that Qari Hussain, a leading militant of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, had roots in the defunct Sipah-e-Sahaba and that many of the Taliban's foot soldiers are from Sipah-e-Sahaba ranks.
• According to Animesh Roul, Ahle-Sunnat-Wal-Jamat (ASWJ) is a front group for Sipah-e-Sahab and was also banned in Pakistan for this until 2018.

Notes

References

References

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