Azam Tariq (; 10 July 1962 – 6 October 2003) was a Pakistani politician and

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

who was the leader of

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan The Sipah-e-Sahaba (SS), also known as the Millat-e-Islamiyya (MI), was a banned Sunni Islamist Deobandi organisation in Pakistan. Founded by Pakistani cleric Haq Nawaz Jhangvi in 1989 after breaking away from Sunni Deobandi party Jamiat Ule ...

(SSP). He was assassinated in 2003.

Early life and education

Azam Tariq was born on 10 July 1962 into a Punjabi

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

farmer family to Mohammad Fateh in Chichawatni, their family roots lying in the Kalyan village of the

Patiala district Patiala district is one of the twenty three districts in the state of Punjab in north-west India. Location Patiala district lies between 38 47’ and 39 41’ north latitude, 115 58’ and 116 54' east longitude, in the southeast part of th ...

, now in Indian Punjab, from where they moved due to the 1947 partition. He studied at a local

madrassa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning. ...

and then enrolled in the

Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia (, ''Jāmiā Ulūm-i Islāmīyā'' / , ''Jāmi‘at-ul-‘Ulūm-ul-Islāmīyah'') is an Islamic University in Binori Town, Banoori Town, Karachi, Pakistan. The university continues the tradition of the Darul Uloom system ...

in Banuri Town,

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. Like most madrassa students and graduates at that time, he participated in the Soviet-Afghan jihad, and when he returned, while he was the

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

of the Masjid-e-Siddiq-e-Akbar in North Karachi he formed the basis of the future SSP.

Arrests and Assassination attempt

The Azam Tariq was arrested and jailed on 20 November 1995 alongside Zia-ur-Rehman Farooqi by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

for anti-Shia activities and in February 1997 during the appearance of both of them due to poor security measures and government collusion a explosion took place in Lahore sessions court in which the Tariq was seriously injured meanwhile Farooqi was killed in this explosion, The Sipah-e-Sahaba accused the government and Sipah-e-Muhammad for the explosion and called it as a pre-planned murder (assassination) of Zia-ur-Rehman Farooqi and Azam Tariq in which Tariq survived, Following the killing of Zia-ur-Rehman Farooqi the Sipah-e-Sahaba appointed Azam Tariq as the new chief-in-Patron of the organization, In August 2001, Tariq was again arrested and jailed on the charges of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

and was released in November 2002.

Political career

Tariq was elected three times to the National Assembly of Pakistan in Jhang Sadr, even though his constituency was a predominantly Shi'a region. He contested again in the 2002 elections while in custody and was again elected. He was released in November 2002.

Views

Azam Tariq was accused of disseminating religious animosity, Tariq was also listed on Pakistan's

watch. He once said "If Islam is to be established in Pakistan then Shias must be declared infidels,". His aim was to transform Pakistan into an Sunni Deobandi

Islamic state The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

governed by

Sharia Law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

where Shias and non-Deobandi Sunnis must be declared as the heretical and infidels just like Ahemadis.

Death

Tariq was shot and killed in an attack on 6 October 2003 alongside

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

as he left the M-2 Motorway to enter the city. his funeral was led by

Abdul Rashid Ghazi Abdul Rashid Ghazi ( – 10 July 2007) was a Pakistanis, Pakistani Islamic scholar and diplomat-turned Islamism, Islamist dissident who served as khatib of Lal Masjid, Islamabad, Lal Masjid and the Vice-chancellor, Chief Executive (President) of ...

inside Lal Masjid. The assassination was part of a growing wave of violent incidents in Pakistan between the sectarian Deobandi Wahhabi and the Shiah Muslims. Violence peaked in July 2003 with the Quetta mosque attack and the massacre of more than 50 people. On 11 May 2017, 13 years after Tariq's assassination, the

Federal Investigation Agency The Federal Investigation Agency (; reporting name: FIA) is a border control, criminal investigation, counter-intelligence and security agency under the control of the Interior Secretary of Pakistan, tasked with investigative jurisdiction on u ...

(FIA) arrested a suspect in his murder.

Bibliography

Books by Tariq

*''Rūdād-i ʻIshq O Vafā'', Jhang : Markazī Daftar-i Sipāh-i Ṣaḥābah, 1999-2004, around 1000 pages (in 2 volumes). Author's memoirs. *''Ahammīyat-i Hadīs̲ Dar Dīn'', Kābul : Mayvand; Peshawar : Kitābkhānah-ʼi Sabā, 2005, 298 p. Importance of

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

for Islam, in Persian. *''K̲h̲ut̤bāt-i Jarnail, al-Maʻrūf, K̲h̲ut̤bāt-i Jel'', Jhang : Markazī Daftar-i Sipāh-i Ṣaḥābah, 2001. Collection of speeches written in jail (1998-1999) collected by Abū Usāmah Z̤iyāurraḥmān Nāṣir.

Books about Tariq

*Muḥammad Nadīm Qāsimī, ''Ḥayāt-i Aʻẓam T̤āriq'', Faiṣalābād : Ishāʻatulmaʻārif, 1998, 413 p. *Muḥammad Nadīm Muʻāviyah, ''Pārlīmanṭ Kā Londa : S̲ānī-i Jarnail-i Sipāh-yi Ṣaḥābah ... Ḥaz̤rat Maulānā Muḥammad Aʻẓam T̤āriq Shahīd Ke Mufaṣṣal Hālāt-i Zindagī Aur Pārlīmant Kī Taqārīr'', Karāchī : Maktabah-yi K̲h̲ilāfat-i Rāshidah, 2005, 376 p.

See more

List of Deobandis Deobandis represent a group of scholars affiliated with the reformist Deobandi movement, which originated in the town of Darul Uloom Deoband in northern India. Founded in 1866, this movement sought to safeguard Islamic teachings amidst non-Musli ...

References

External links

Shia News
a partisan account of Azam Tariq's release in 2001, with a background of the history of Sunni-Shia violence in Pakistan
Pakistan ''Daily Times'' 7 October 2004

Shia News report of Azam Tariq's assassination

Azam Tariq's assassination news by Newsline (Pakistan). {{DEFAULTSORT:Tariq, Azam 1962 births 2003 deaths Pakistani prisoners and detainees Pakistani religious leaders Pakistani MNAs 1990–1993 Pakistani MNAs 1993–1996 Pakistani MNAs 2002–2007 People from Chichawatni History of Islam in Pakistan Religiously motivated violence in Pakistan Shia–Sunni sectarian violence Deaths by firearm in Pakistan Assassinated Pakistani politicians Assassinated religious leaders Pakistani far-right politicians Deobandis People murdered in Islamabad Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan people Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia alumni Chiefs of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan Politicians assassinated in 2003 Mujahideen members of the Soviet–Afghan War