Editing Islam in Pakistan (section)

===Shia===
{{Main|Shia Islam in Pakistan}}
Shias are estimated to constitute about 10-15 percent of the country's population.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-08-09 |title=Chapter 5: Boundaries of Religious Identity |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-5-religious-identity/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US}}</ref> Major traditions of Shia Islam found in Pakistan include the [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver Shias]] (or Ithna Ashariyyah)&nbsp;and the [[Isma'ilism|Ismaili Shias]] (or Seveners); most notably the [[Dawoodi Bohra]]s and the [[Khoja|Khoja Ismailis]]—known for their prominence in commerce and industry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan - Islamic Assembly, Sunni & Shiʿi Sects, Wahhābī Movement {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Pakistan/Religion |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

Many prominent Shia Muslim politicians were known to play a decisive role in the creation of Pakistan for decades during the [[Pakistan Movement]]. The role as the first president of the Muslim League and its main financial backer during its earlier years was undertaken by [[Aga Khan III|Sir Aga Khan III]], an Ismaili by faith. Other politicians that held prominent roles in the initial decades of the Muslim League include Raja Sahib, Syed Ameer Ali and Syed Wazir Hasan, among others.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fuchs |first=Simon Wolfgang |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9781469649818_fuchs |title=In a Pure Muslim Land: Shi'ism between Pakistan and the Middle East |date=2019 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-4696-4979-5 |jstor=10.5149/9781469649818_fuchs }}</ref>

A 2012 study found 50% of surveyed Pakistanis considered Shia as Muslims while 41% rejected Shia as Muslims.<ref name=":12">{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-executive-summary/ |title=The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity |date=9 August 2012 |website=Pew Research Center|access-date=26 December 2016 |quote=On the other hand, in Pakistan, where 2% of the survey respondents identify as Shia, Sunni attitudes are more mixed: 50% say Shias are Muslims, while 41% say they are not.}}</ref><ref name="pewresearch.org">{{Cite web |date=2012-08-09 |title=Chapter 5: Boundaries of Religious Identity |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-5-religious-identity/ |access-date=2023-01-01 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Shias]] allege discrimination by the Pakistani government since 1948, claiming that [[Sunni Islam|Sunnis]] are given preference in business, official positions and administration of justice.<ref name=":22">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O7GPWbu8XKgC&q=gilgit+shias+1988+killing&pg=PT24|title=Around Rakaposhi|last=Jones|first=Brian H.|publisher=Brian H Jones|year=2010|isbn=9780980810721|quote=Many Shias in the region feel that they have been discriminated against since 1948. They claim that the Pakistani government continually gives preferences to Sunnis in business, in official positions, and in the administration of justice...The situation deteriorated sharply during the 1980s under the presidency of the tyrannical Zia-ul Haq when there were many attacks on the Shia population.}}</ref> Attacks on Shias increased under the presidency of Zia-ul-Haq,<ref name=":22" /> with the first major sectarian riots in Pakistan breaking out in 1983 in [[Karachi]] and later spreading to other parts of the country.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/11/10/sectarian-strife-threatens-pakistans-fragile-society/|title=Sectarian Strife Threatens Pakistan's Fragile Society|last=Broder|first=Jonathan|date=10 November 1987|work=Chicago Tribune|quote=Pakistan`s first major Shiite-Sunni riots erupted in 1983 in Karachi during the Shiite holiday of Muharram; at least 60 people were killed. More Muharram disturbances followed over the next three years, spreading to Lahore and the Baluchistan region and leaving hundreds more dead. Last July, Sunnis and Shiites, many of them armed with locally made automatic weapons, clashed in the northwestern town of Parachinar, where at least 200 died.|access-date=31 December 2016}}</ref> Shias have long been a target of Sunni radical groups such as [[Lashkar-e-Jhangvi]] in the country. Sectarian violence became a recurring feature of the [[Muharram]] month every year, with sectarian violence between [[Sunnis]] and [[Shias]] taking place on multiple occasions.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O7GPWbu8XKgC&q=gilgit+shias+1988+killing&pg=PT24|title=Around Rakaposhi|last=Jones|first=Brian H.|publisher=Brian H Jones|year=2010|isbn=9780980810721|quote=Many Shias in the region feel that they have been discriminated against since 1948. They claim that the Pakistani government continually gives preferences to Sunnis in business, in official positions, and in the administration of justice...The situation deteriorated sharply during the 1980s under the presidency of the tyrannical Zia-ul Haq when there were many attacks on the Shia population. In one of the most notorious incidents, during May 1988 Sunni assailants destroyed Shia villages, forcing thousands of people to flee to Gilgit for refuge. Shia mosques were razed and about 100 people were killed}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://herald.dawn.com/news/1153556|title=This Muharram, Gilgit gives peace a chance|last=Taimur|first=Shamil|date=12 October 2016|work=Herald|quote=This led to violent clashes between the two sects. In 1988, after a brief calm of nearly four days, the military regime allegedly used certain militants along with local Sunnis to ‘teach a lesson’ to Shias, which led to hundreds of Shias and Sunnis being killed.|access-date=31 December 2016}}</ref> Since 2008 thousands of Shia have been killed by Sunni extremists according to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) and violent clashes between the two sects are common.<ref name="HRW-2014">{{cite web|title=Pakistan: Rampant Killings of Shia by Extremists|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/06/29/pakistan-rampant-killings-shia-extremists|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=16 November 2014|date=30 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129020929/http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/06/29/pakistan-rampant-killings-shia-extremists|archive-date=29 November 2014|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

A subset of Shia in Pakistan are the Hazara ethnic group—which are distinct from other Shi’a due to their language and facial features. Most Hazaras live in Afghanistan, but Pakistan also hosts between 650,000 and 900,000 – and around 500,000 live in the city of Quetta.<ref name="/minorityrights.org">{{cite web |title=Pakistan. Main minorities and indigenous peoples |url=https://minorityrights.org/country/pakistan/#:~:text=Christians%2C%20Hindus%2C%20Ahmadis%2C%20Scheduled,Ahmadis%20are%20now%20not%20recognized. |website=World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples |access-date=9 August 2023}}</ref>