Updated 18 April 2012
From 13-14 April 2012, protests were held in London (UK), Toronto, Vancouver (Canada), Washington DC (USA) and other parts of the world after the tragic events that occurred in Chilas, the northern area of Pakistan. Thousands of Shias gathered to condemn this brutal act of hate and violence, and give a voice to the victims of this tragedy.
Tragedy in Gilgit
On 2nd April, 2012, a convoy of a dozen transport buses left Rawalpindi for Skardu, Gilgit and other northern areas. Upon reaching Chilas the bus was surrounded by over 2,000 supporters of the Wahhabi Deobandis.
The crowd of 2,000 armed militants surrounded the transport busses and started pelting them with stones. The police escorts for the buses stayed on the sidelines and in certain cases handed over their weapons to the attackers. The militants disembarked the travelers from the buses and checked their identification cards to determine which of them belonged to the Shia Muslim sect of Islam. As soon as they found anyone who was a Shia, they raised anti-Shia slogans and started to attack the person.
The Government of Pakistan has imposed a curfew on Gilgit and has cutoff internet and telephone land lines and jammed cell phone signals. A count of vicitims has not been determined in this incident and only 15 bodies have been recovered so far. Eyewitnesses put the total number of casualties at 50 and over 200 are missing, feared to be dead or captured by the militants.
Peace and justice loving individuals from all over Pakistan have held large protest rallies to condemn this incident and thousands have been participating in an on-going sit-in in front of the Parliament in Pakistan.
The World Federation is deeply saddened to hear of this incident and condemns these acts of blatent hate and violence. We offer our condolensces to the families of the victims and pray that the Almighty grant them the strength to bear with the loss of their family members. We continue to pray for peace and unity among all human beings, regardless of race or religion – Ameen.
In response to these events, The World Federation has written to the High Commissioner for Pakistan. View letter.