Sectarian harmony: Sunnis and Shias unite over land dispute
We are aware of attempts being made by some elements to divide us, but we will never let it happen, says a Shia elder.
“This land belongs to us regardless of whether we are Sunnis or Shias,” says Bashir. PHOTO: FILE
GILGIT:
In a rare show of sectarian harmony, Sunni and Shia elders from Hainzal village on Wednesday vowed to foil conspiracies aimed at severing their decades-old ties.
“We are aware of attempts being made by some elements to divide us, but we will never let it happen,” Mohammad Bashir, a Shia elder, told journalists at the Gilgit Press Club.
The assertion follows Monday’s clash during which two people from the village were shot and injured over a land dispute.
People from Gilgit including Abdul Wahid, a politician and member of the peace committee, have also claimed the land. Wahid was admitted to hospital after suffering a blow to the head during the skirmish which took place when the two opposing parties crossed paths in Gilgit’s tehsil office.
“We are the third generation to live here, and let me tell you categorically that this land belongs to us regardless of whether we are Sunnis or Shias,” said Bashir, adding that they would stand together to defend the 2,000 kanals of land located on the upper side of the village. According to the village’s elders, Hainzal, which is about 25 kilometers from Gilgit, has over 400 houses.
Bashir said Sunni elders always came to support Shias whenever sectarian clashes erupted in other parts of the region. “I am thankful to my colleagues who chose me to speak to you.”
Haji Abdul Jalil, a Sunni elder, maintained the land dispute was a deliberate attempt to create a sectarian gulf between the two communities, which have been living together peacefully in the village since the early 1900s.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 28th, 2013.
In a rare show of sectarian harmony, Sunni and Shia elders from Hainzal village on Wednesday vowed to foil conspiracies aimed at severing their decades-old ties.
“We are aware of attempts being made by some elements to divide us, but we will never let it happen,” Mohammad Bashir, a Shia elder, told journalists at the Gilgit Press Club.
The assertion follows Monday’s clash during which two people from the village were shot and injured over a land dispute.
People from Gilgit including Abdul Wahid, a politician and member of the peace committee, have also claimed the land. Wahid was admitted to hospital after suffering a blow to the head during the skirmish which took place when the two opposing parties crossed paths in Gilgit’s tehsil office.
“We are the third generation to live here, and let me tell you categorically that this land belongs to us regardless of whether we are Sunnis or Shias,” said Bashir, adding that they would stand together to defend the 2,000 kanals of land located on the upper side of the village. According to the village’s elders, Hainzal, which is about 25 kilometers from Gilgit, has over 400 houses.
Bashir said Sunni elders always came to support Shias whenever sectarian clashes erupted in other parts of the region. “I am thankful to my colleagues who chose me to speak to you.”
Haji Abdul Jalil, a Sunni elder, maintained the land dispute was a deliberate attempt to create a sectarian gulf between the two communities, which have been living together peacefully in the village since the early 1900s.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 28th, 2013.