Founded 1994 (officially) Colors Black and Yellow | ||
Ideology Protection of Shi'a community, armed resistance to Wahhabi/Takfiri terrorism and target killing | ||
Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan (S.M.P) (Urdu: سپاہ محمد پاکستان; Arabic: سباه محمد الباكستانيه; English: Soldiers of Muhammad) is a Shiite Islamic militant group and a former political party based in Pakistan that was formed in the early 1990s (the exact date of formation is not known) as a response to sectarian violence against Pakistani Shiite Muslims orchestrated by Deobandi militant movement such as Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (also known Lashkar-e-Jhangvi). On August 14, 2001, it was banned by President Pervez Musharraf as a terrorist organisation. However, its influence is also supposed to be in India.
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History
Maulana Mureed Abbas Yazdani formed Sipa-e-Muhammad Pakistan in 1993. It is believed to be armed wing of Tehreek-e-Jafria Pakistan. It is involved in assassination of so-called Ulama of the Takfiri Deobandis and violence against Takfiri Deobandis in the country. It was banned in Pakistan by President Musharraf in 2002. It is accused of killing of central leadership of Sipa-e-Sahabah starting from Haq Nawaz Jhangvi to recent assassinations in Karachi and Rawalpinid. Its headquarters is in Thokar Niaz Baig Lahore and its leader is Syyed Ghulam Raza Naqvi who was imprisoned in 1996 and released in 2014.
Pakistani security agencies have accused the group of active support and funding from Iran yet there is no evidence of this.
Activities
Sipah-e-Muhammad's primary aim was to target the leaders of the banned Deobandi militia Sipah-e-Sahaba or Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. However, with the subsequent rise in the violence against Shiite Muslims, it was thought to be reforming.
The movement was strong in various Shiite communities in Pakistan, and in the majority Shiite town of Thokar Niaz Baig ran a "virtual state within a state" in the 1990s.
Military operations
According to the sources, following operations have been conducted by Sipah-e-Muhammad. However, it denies carrying out any of these attacks:
The leaders of the Sipah-e-Sahaba (also known as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi) that were assassinated by Sipah-e-Muhammad were also affiliated with the Taliban and its sub-groups in Pakistan.
Affiliations
Sipah-e-Muhammad is alleged to have ties with the Iran although this claim is not yet proven, and to an extent, the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba is also seen as attempt by the Saudi dictatorship to assert influence in Pakistan.
Designation as a terrorist organization
The Government of Pakistan designated the Sipah-e-Muhammad a terrorist organization, and it is classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under U.S. law. As a result, its finances are blocked worldwide by the U.S government.