By Aamir Latif
ISLAMABAD
Shia Muslim groups in Pakistan's northwestern Kurram tribal region continued a six-day long political dispute when hundreds of protesters from two Shia tribes gathered on Sunday.
The groups have spent the last week campaigning against each other, with protests and sit-ins aimed at increasing their own political and religious influence.
The protests were centered on a dispute surrounding the banning of a local Shia leader from the Kurram Agency -- the only tribal area with a considerable Shia population -- two months ago.
Critics of Allama Nawaz Irfani, Imam of the central Mosque and Imambargah (a Shia place of worship) in the predominantly Shia town of Parachinar accused him of inciting Shia-Sunni tensions and misappropriating funds collected for the places of worship.
A group led by former Air Vice Marshall, Syed Qaisar Hussain has accused Irfani of establishing a private militia named the "Pasdars" (protectors).
"There were no Sunni-Shiite tension in Kurram Agency when the local affairs were handled by the locals," Hussain told a press conference in Islamabad, referring to Irfani's relocation to Kurram 14 years ago. "He (Irfani) must not be allowed to return to the area as he and some Sunni Maulvis (scholars) are involved in creating sectarian divide in the region."
Sajid Hussain Turi, a local member of parliament, said Hussain's allegations are baseless and based on personal grievances.
"Pasdar is very much like any other Lashkar (militia) set up in other tribal areas by the tribal administration to maintain peace," said Turi, who defeated Hussain in the May 2013 general election, with Irfani's support.
"Allama Irfani holds a high esteem in the region. Ban on his entry is unjust and uncalled. He should immediately be allowed to return," he added. "He (Hussain) should accept his defeat in elections against me."
Turi blamed Hussain's group for playing into the hands of some "agencies" seeking divide the Shia community.
Kurram has had a recent history of Shia-Sunni clashes, which led to Sunni tribes and Taliban militants blocking the main Kurran-Parachinar highway three years ago.
The recent tension has been contained within the Shia community.
Shias make up 10 per cent of Sunni majority Pakistan's population.
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