Azam Tariq ( ur, اعظم طارق March 1962 – 6 October 2003) was the leader of the politico-religious organisation Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a Deobandi organization, which was officially banned by the government of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

in August 2001. On 26 June 2018, Pakistan lifted the ban. After his assassination in 2003,

Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi ( ur, ) is the current Sarparast-e-Aala of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jama'at (ASWJ), a proscribed group in Pakistan. Ludhianvi became the head of ASWJ (then knows as Sipah-e Sahaba) upon the death of the previous chief, Ali ...

was selected as the president of

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP, , Guardians of the Prophet's Companions), renamed to Millat-e-Islamia, is a Islamist organisation in Pakistan, which also functioned as a political party. It broke away from the main Deobandi Sunni organisation ...

Early life and education

Tariq was born to a poor

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi agricultural tribe with strong political identity and organisation, found mainly in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh with a small population in parts of Indian Punjab, Uttar Pradesh ...

farmer Mohammad Fateh in village, Chak No 111/7R, Chichawatni. The family is originally from

Nakodar Nakodar is a town and a municipal council in Jalandhar district in the Indian state of Punjab. The city is almost 365 km from Delhi, 25 km from Jalandhar, 49 km from Ludhiana, and about 101 km from Amritsar. Surrounding vill ...

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

. He studied at a local madrassa and then enrolled in the

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

in Banuri Town,

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Career

In August 2001, Pakistani president

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

banned seven alleged Islamic organizations, including Sipah-e-Sahaba, and Azam Tariq was arrested and jailed on charges of terrorism. Azam 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.

Assassination

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

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

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

Abdul Rashid Ghazi Abdul Rashid Ghazi ( ur, عبد الرشید غازی; – 10 July 2007) was a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist who served as the vice-chancellor of Faridia University. Prior to his radicalisation, he served as a diplomat for UNESCO. He was ...

inside Lal Masjid. The assassination was part of a growing wave of violent incidents in Pakistan between the sectarian Sunni 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, the

Federal Investigation Agency The Federal Investigation Agency ( ur, ; 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 jurisdi ...

(FIA) arrested a proclaimed offender after 13 years who murdered him.

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 ḥadīs̲ dar dīn'', Kābul : Mayvand ; Peshawar : Kitābkhānah-ʼi Sabā, 2005, 298 p. Importance of

Hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

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 ḥālāt-i zindagī aur Pārlīmant kī taqārīr'', Karāchī : Maktabah-yi K̲h̲ilāfat-i Rāshidah, 2005, 376 p.

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 Islamic scholars 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